A strike at one of this country’s largest railway’s has ended after the union representing more than 3,000 Canadian Pacific conductors and engineers announced Wednesday it had reached a tentative agreement. 

In an email, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Spokesperson Christopher Monette said workers will return to work on Thursday. 

“We would like to thank our members for their incredible support throughout this process,” the union’s president Doug Finnson said in a release. “ We believe this is a fair contract that our members can feel good about ratifying.  I am personally very satisfied with what we have negotiated.” 

The union president thanked federal mediators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Labour Minister Patty Hajdu for their assistance with the negotiations and for standing up for workers’ rights. 

In Ottawa, Transport Minister Marc Garneau told iPolitics he was thrilled all sides had reached an agreement, noting the end result was a “minimal disruption” for Canadian shippers. 

“I am obviously delighted,” he said, noting he was pleased the parties had reached an agreement on their own. “ This is, I think, a good example of allowing the process to unfold as it is intended to unfold. 

Garneau said he expects CP rail will be fully operational within the next 48 hours. 

CP rail confirmed the agreement, noting in a release the deal – which will still need to be ratified by union members – is good for four years. 

“This is a positive result for our TCRC employees and their families, the 12,000-strong CP family, our customers and the entire Canadian economy,” said CP President and CEO Keith Creel said in a release. 

“It is especially meaningful to achieve a four-year tentative agreement with our valued locomotive engineers and conductors, providing long-term stability for all parties involved.  This is a significant step toward a renewed positive relationship growing forward together serving our customers and the Canadian economy.” 

News of the tentative renewal of the collective agreement comes after the workers walked off the job at 10 p.m. EST.  It was the third strike to occur at Canadian Pacific since 2012.  Workers have been without a collective agreement since the end of 2017. 

Parties remained at the negotiating table, where they received help from federal mediators.  Significant sticking points had included worker concerns about fatigue and office culture, Monette said Tuesday, noting union members currently have 8,000 grievances filed against the company. 

Transport Minister Marc Garneau and Hajdu had confirmed the parties were still at the table Tuesday evening, which Hajdu told iPolitics was “good news.”  Both ministers had been in touch with CP officials and others at the negotiating table before the strike started. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said that the federal government will not be rushed into introducing back-to-work legislation. 

“Quite frankly, we have companies that have gotten used to the fact that in certain industries, the government in the past was very quick to legislate against unions,” he said during a conference in Toronto. 

“We are not going to do that.” 

Trudeau insisted the government believed in collective bargaining, but will use various levers to motivate both sides to reach a settlement. 

However, if it is eventually forced to intervene, the Liberal government won’t be giving the advantage to employers. 

“I can tell you we will also look at legislation to deal with some of the issues that the unions are talking about, which are not just about money but are about rail safety for employees.” 

Just before the strike deadline, CP said a tentative three-year contract agreement had been reached with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers — the union that represents its 360 signalling workers. 

That agreement meant the strike would not affect commuters in Vancouver, Montreal or Toronto, Monette said, despite the fact those trains run on track owned by Canadian Pacific.  Metrolinx had warned commuters that signalling delays could potentially snarl commutes in those centres. 

However, a strike would have had significant consequences for this country’s freight rail service.  CP had already begun shutting down its rail network over the weekend after it was served with its second formal strike notice by the unions in less than two months. 

The strike came as Prairie shippers, including grain, potash and forestry producers, continue to recover from this winter’s rail backlog that left millions of tonnes of goods stranded across Western Canada. 

Grain Growers President Jeff Nielsen said in an email the strike’s quick end was “good news for Canadian shippers” and that grain farmers were “delighted” with the news. 

The strike was also expected to affect Canadian National Railway’s operations.  In April, CN warned customers it would be unable to accept shipments that needed to be moved on both CN and CP lines. 

CN would have also seen delays moving through the mountains.  It’s a dual track in that part of the country, with one line owned by CP and the other by CN. 

Via Rail said Tuesday it had cancelled its train service between Sudbury and White River in light of the pending strike. 

– With files from Canadian Press