Students in both the Wild Rose School Division (WRSD) and Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) are set to return to class Wednesday after the Alberta government passed legislation forcing an end to the provincewide teachers’ strike.

In an update to parents, WRSD says all schools will reopen and buses will run on their normal schedules Wednesday morning.

In a statement from Superintendent Dr. Rhonda Nixon, RDCRS also confirms that its schools will be open as of Oct. 29, with regular schedules, bussing and support for students.

The move comes after Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative government passed Bill 2: Back to School Act early Tuesday morning, using the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to legislate teachers and students back to class.

Smith’s majority caucus imposed time limits on debate, pushing the bill through all legislative stages in about six and a half hours. The legislation passed third and final reading at 2 a.m. Tuesday.

Under the new law, Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) members who refuse to return to work, face fines of up to $500 a day, while the union could be fined up to $500,000 a day.

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides told the legislature the government faced an “undeniable moral imperative” to stop the three-week strike, which he said was harming students’ social and educational development.

The law also imposes a collective agreement previously proposed by both the government and the ATA — an offer that rank and file teachers had overwhelmingly rejected. The deal includes a 12 per cent wage increase over four years, along with commitments to hire 3,000 more teachers and 1,500 educational assistants.

The ATA called the government’s use of the notwithstanding clause a “gross abuse of power,” but said it would comply with the law while pursuing legal action.

In a statement issued early Tuesday, the union said it will “pursue all legal alternatives to challenge Bill 2’s egregious assault on the collective bargaining rights of teachers and, by extension, all workers.”

The statement added: “In this effort, we anticipate that we will be supported by organized labour, civil society and ordinary citizens. This fight has just begun.”

The Opposition NDP voted against the bill, accusing the government of trampling on constitutional rights.

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said Smith’s use of the clause was an authoritarian overreach.

“Albertans will be forgiven for asking themselves, ‘Who’s next?’” Nenshi said. “What rights does this premier want to defend, and which ones is she willing to trample over — and for whom?”

The move has also set up a potential clash with the Common Front, a coalition representing more than 350,000 public-sector workers. The group has promised an “unprecedented response” if the government overrode teachers’ rights to strike and assemble.

Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour and spokesperson for the Common Front, said unions are considering all options — including strike action.

On social media Monday night, McGowan said labour leaders would meet Tuesday to plan next steps and expected to make an announcement Wednesday.

“My message to Alberta teachers is simple: you will not stand alone,” he wrote. “All other Alberta unions will meet to finalize a plan for unprecedented collective action.”

He added that Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske would travel to Alberta for a Wednesday press conference to pledge national support.

Smith defended the use of the notwithstanding clause, saying the scale of the strike — the largest in Alberta history — required decisive action to restore stability in schools.

The strike, which began Oct. 6, has kept more than 740,000 students out of class. Teachers from public, separate and francophone schools walked off the job after contract talks broke down, mainly over class sizes and supports for complex student needs.

Smith said those issues can’t be solved through one-size-fits-all bargaining and committed to publishing classroom size data and creating a panel on classroom complexity.

The ATA said the new law may end the strike, but not the underlying issues.

“We must be clear: although this legislation might end the strike and lift the lockout, it does not end the underfunding and deterioration of teaching and learning conditions,” the union said. “Our schools will not be better for it.”

There is precedent for such a move: in 2022, Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government used the notwithstanding clause to end a strike by 55,000 education support workers. The decision sparked widespread protests, and the law was later repealed after public backlash.

~ with files from The Canadian Press