TORONTO — Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau will retire this fall after nearly two decades with the airline, the company announced Monday, following a week of criticism over an English-only message issued after a fatal crash involving one of its flights.The controversy stems from Rousseau’s response to the March 22 crash of Flight 8646 at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The aircraft, which had departed from Montreal, collided with a fire truck upon landing, killing two pilots — first officer Mackenzie Gunther and Capt. Antoine Forest — and injuring dozens of others.Rousseau delivered a video message the following day expressing condolences to the victims’ families. The message, however, was delivered almost entirely in English, aside from a brief greeting and closing in French, prompting widespread criticism.Forest, one of the deceased pilots, was a francophone from Quebec. Air Canada is headquartered in Montreal and maintains policies requiring communication in both of Canada’s official languages..Political leaders across the country condemned the message. Prime Minister Mark Carney described it as showing “a lack of judgment” and “compassion,” while Yves-François Blanchet called it a “sad and gross lack of respect” for the victim’s family. Quebec Premier François Legault also called for Rousseau’s resignation.Others defended the CEO. Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney said Rousseau’s focus should remain on airline safety and reliability rather than language proficiency.In a statement released later in the week, Rousseau said that despite years of lessons, he remains unable to adequately express himself in French. The apology drew further criticism from some observers.The backlash escalated quickly. Rousseau was summoned to appear before a federal parliamentary committee on official languages, while Quebec’s National Assembly introduced a motion calling for his resignation. The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages reported receiving nearly 2,200 complaints related to the incident.Air Canada has not specified an exact retirement date, but said Rousseau will step down sometime in the fall.
