OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA — Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) railroads, both major North American grain shippers, have reached tentative labor deals following brief work stoppages in August.

CN announced on Jan. 28 that it had agreed to a new tentative four-year collective agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers (IBEW). The union represents approximately 750 signals and communication employees at CN across Canada. The current collective agreement with IBEW expired on Dec. 31, 2024.

On Jan. 28, CPKC said a tentative deal was reached with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) Maintenance of Way Employees Division, representing about 2,300 engineering service employees in Canada. The previous day, the railroad said it reached a tentative four-year agreement with Unifor, representing about 1,200 mechanics, laborers, diesel service attendants and mechanical support staff. 

Both companies said details of the agreements would not be disclosed, pending ratification.

A CN agreement with Unifor was formally ratified by employees on Dec. 22, 2024. The union represents approximately 3,300 employees at CN in Canada, working in mechanical, clerical and intermodal functions, all covered by multiple collective agreements. These new four-year agreements include annual 3% wage increases. The agreements expire on Dec. 31, 2028.

Hours after both railways fully suspended operations on Aug. 23 amid an inability to reach new labor contracts, Canadian Minister of Labor Steven Mackinnon ordered the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to implement binding arbitration, extend collective agreements and resume operations.

CN and the TCRC will hold mediation meetings over seven days in March. If a mediated settlement is not reached, arbitration will be scheduled for April. TCRC represents approximately 6,000 conductors, conductor trainees, yard coordinators and locomotive engineers across CN’s network in Canada.

CN, based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, operates a nearly 20,000-mile rail network and related transportation services that connect Canada’s eastern and western coasts with the US Midwest and the Gulf of Mexico.

With headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, CPKC is the only single-line transnational railway linking Canada, the United States and Mexico, stretching approximately 20,000 route miles and employing 20,000 railroaders.