Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau to retire later this year following language controversy

Business·Breaking

Air ‌Canada CEO Michael Rousseau will retire by the end of the third quarter after nearly ⁠two ⁠decades ‌with the Canadian flag carrier, the airline said on Monday, a week after the executive made headlines for issuing an English-only condolence following the AC8646 crash.

Under fire for English-only message after death of two pilots, one a Francophone

Jenna Benchetrit · CBC News · Posted: Mar 30, 2026 8:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago

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A man is shown in a dark suit with his arms crossed. — Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau is seen in an undated handout photo. (The Canadian Press/Air Canada)

Air ‌Canada CEO Michael Rousseau will retire by the end of the third quarter after nearly ⁠two ⁠decades ‌with the airline, the company said on Monday, a week after he made headlines by issuing an English-only message of condolence following the crash of Flight 8646 in New York.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenna Benchetrit is the senior business writer for CBC News. She writes stories about Canadian economic and consumer issues, and has also recently covered U.S. politics. She was part of the team that won a silver Digital Publishing Award in best news coverage for covering the 2024 U.S. election. A Montrealer based in Toronto, Jenna holds a master’s degree in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University. You can reach her at jenna.benchetrit@cbc.ca.

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