More than 860 uOttawa teaching professors vote to authorize strike

More than 860 teaching professors at the University of Ottawa voted Friday to authorize a strike, giving their union a negotiating tool as contract talks with the administration continue.

The Association of Teaching Professors of the University of Ottawa (ATPUO) conducted a five-day electronic vote across three bargaining units. The main unit voted 88.2 percent in favour of a strike mandate. The Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute unit voted 73.1 percent in favour. The Toronto-Windsor unit voted unanimously in favour.

ATUPO represents more than 2,500 contract and part-time professors at uOttawa. The union's collective agreement with the university expired August 31, 2025. Negotiations since then have focused on improving working conditions.

Nelson Arturo Ovalle Diaz, ATPUO's chief negotiator, said in a statement: "Our members are sending a clear message to the administration that they no longer accept the status quo and that current conditions have become intolerable." Bargaining committee member Luc Angers added that the university's proposal to create unlimited intensive teaching positions would "increase precarity and threaten the quality of education."

The union described the strike mandate as a "strategic tool" to pressure the administration back to the bargaining table. A strike mandate does not mean classes would immediately be disrupted. ATPUO said the results demonstrated "unprecedented mobilization" among members and expressed confidence that an agreement could be reached without a labour dispute, saying student success remained a priority.

The university has not yet responded publicly to the vote.