The chief executive officer of Air Canada Michael Rousseau will go into early retirement after facing heavy backlash for his speech on the fatal Air Canada Express crash that took the lives of two Canadian pilots at LaGuardia Airport on March 22.
Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther were killed when the Bombardier CRJ-900 plane they were piloting from Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport crashed into a fire truck after being given clearance to land on one of the LaGuardia runways. The remaining 43 passengers and crew members survived and were taken to hospital with injuries of varying degrees of severity.
A day after the crash, Rousseau released a four-minute video in which he called the accident “a very dark day for Canada” and expressed his condolences to the families of the pilots. But as the speech was entirely in English, it caused immediate outcry given French’s status as a national language and the fact that Forest’s family are native French speakers from Québec.
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau to retire by the fall of 2026
Rousseau had been embroiled in several language scandals since he started his role as Air Canada’s chief executive officer in February 2021 that he justified on being busy running the airline rather than learning the language; while he was able to emerge from them in past years, the devastating nature of the recent crash immediately caused a larger outcry and accusations of insensitivity.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Rousseau showed a “lack of judgement” and a “lack of compassion” while Québec Premier François Legault and Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet both publicly called for his resignation.
On March 26, Rousseau issued a public apology stating that he was “deeply saddened” that his “inability to speak French” turned into a distraction from the families’ mourning.
Related: Air Canada CEO faces growing calls to resign
Canadian national broadcaster CBC reported that Rousseau’s speech prompted over 2,000 complaints to Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages in the week following the crash.
Antoine Forest was one of the two Air Canada pilots killed in the crash at LaGuardia Airport.
“His decision is consistent with the Board’s longstanding focus”: Air Canada
On March 30, Air Canada put out a statement announcing that Rousseau has “reached a natural retirement age [he is 68 years old]” and would step down before the end of 2026 as the airline looks for his successor.
“His decision is consistent with the Board’s longstanding focus on CEO executive succession planning,” the short statement concluded. An internal memo sent to Air Canada staff also said that Rousseau was proud of what he was accomplished at the airline but needed to step down at the current time.
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Rousseau joined Air Canada in 2007 as chief financial officer and, after rising up through various leadership positions, was promoted to president and chief executive of the national airline in 2021.
Upon the announcement of Rousseau’s departure, Air Canada shares plunged nearly 4% to $12.45 USD. As all major airlines, Air Canada has had a tumultuous year driven by travel patterns influenced by political instability and rising gas costs.
Shares are down nearly 14% since the start of 2026.
Related: Pilot killed in LaGuardia plane crash identified by family