Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau is stepping down after facing heated backlash for a video statement he made almost entirely in English after a fatal plane crash earlier this month – snubbing Montreal’s official language of French.
Rousseau, who became CEO in 2021 and served in top positions at the airline for nearly two decades, told the board he will retire by the end of the third quarter of 2026, Air Canada said in a statement Monday.
Asked whether Rousseau’s retirement is tied to the backlash, an Air Canada spokesperson said Rousseau “has reached a natural retirement age” and that his plans to quit later this year are consistent with the board’s CEO succession planning.
His resignation follows widespread outrage in Quebec, where the provincial legislature voted in favor of a motion calling for him to exit the company as the region’s Francophones blasted his majority-English video statement as disrespectful.
In a four-minute video, Rousseau expressed his “deepest sorrow for everyone affected” in the crash at LaGuardia Airport – which killed both pilots and hospitalized 41 others – though the only words he spoke in French were “bonjour” at the beginning and “merci” at the end.
His comments fueled a PR crisis for the airline, which was already in hot water following the fatal collision, as thousands of complaints were filed with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages in Canada.
Canada’s national airline is based in Montreal, where the majority language is French, and it is also subject to the Official Languages Act, which requires businesses to provide equal services in English and French.
Many Canadians also pointed out that Antoine Forest, 30, one of the two pilots killed in the collision, grew up in Coteau-du-Lac – a city in southwestern Quebec where many residents speak French.
In a written statement released in both English and French, Rousseau said he was “deeply saddened” that his inability to speak French “diverted attention” away from the victims’ families and Air Canada staffers involved in the crash.
He admitted that his French skills are weak “despite many lessons over several years,” adding, “I sincerely apologize for this, but I am continuing my efforts to improve.”
In 2021, soon after he was appointed CEO, Rousseau stoked similar backlash when he gave a speech to a group of Montreal business leaders almost entirely in English.
During the speech, Rousseau said he took pride in the fact that he managed to live in Montreal for more than a decade without speaking French.
He later apologized and promised to take French lessons.
The fatal collision at LaGuardia Airport on March 22 took place during landing shortly before midnight, when an Air Canada passenger plane smashed into a rescue truck responding to a separate emergency.
It obliterated the front of the jet and forced the airport to close for most of the following day.
Both pilots were killed, including Mackenzie Gunther, 24, the first officer on the flight who grew up in a suburb in Ottawa, and Forest.
Audio caught an air traffic controller frantically trying to stop the crash, crying out, “Stop, stop, stop, stop!”
He was later heard saying: “I messed up.”
