Classes at Laurentian University in Sudbury have been suspended since Jan. 19, upon which faculty, librarians and counsellors represented by the Laurentian University Faculty Association began strike action.
In a university FAQ updated during the labour disruption, Laurentian states that classes, labs, seminars, thesis defences and other activities led by faculty members and instructors stop temporarily during a strike. The campus remains open during a strike and activities led by university staff continue, including most student services, though counselling services are interrupted.
During a strike, students are not expected to work on their courses because striking faculty members are not teaching, marking or otherwise evaluating student work, and assignment deadlines will be reassessed after faculty return to work. For online, for-credit students, Laurentian says instruction led by faculty stops temporarily during the disruption while access to the learning platform remains available.
Reporting by University Affairs states the strike followed months of negotiations and a mediation process that ended Jan. 18 without breaking the impasse. The same report states that Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) members voted 98 per cent in favour of a strike mandate in November.
On its student-facing LUFA bargaining FAQ, LUFA describes itself as the representation for most professors, librarians and instructors at Laurentian, while outlining that their collective agreement with Laurentian sets working conditions, including pay, pensions, workload and course quality. As well, LUFA states that its prior collective agreement expired in 2025 and that negotiations for a new agreement are ongoing.
Laurentian’s most recent published university update available on its labour relations page, dated Jan. 23, states that before the parties reached an impasse on Jan. 18 the university presented its “strongest possible offer.” The university describes its overall offer as “fair, reasonable and sustainable,” and says that it is intended to balance faculty compensation with the institution’s financial constraints.
In the same update, Laurentian says its salary proposal exceeds what other faculty associations in the province agreed to in 2025 and that it offered pension and workload-related changes.
A separate report from Jan. 19 distributed by The Canadian Press situates the current dispute in the context of the university’s recent financial challenges, including creditor protection proceedings that began in early 2021 and subsequent restructuring.
In the aforementioned Jan. 23 update, Laurentian links its stated financial position in bargaining to its ongoing recovery following restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.
On pensions, University Affairs reports that the exit loan agreement associated with the university’s debt restructuring restricts pension negotiations in the current talks and prohibits establishing a defined-benefit pension plan before 2038, which the union is challenging.
A trade publication covering pensions similarly reports that a 2022 provincial loan agreement has been cited as limiting pension bargaining until 2038 and that the union has pursued a constitutional challenge related to the restriction.
Ultimately, after months of talks and mediations that ended Jan. 18 without agreement, Laurentian University has suspended classes and faculty-led academic activities as strike action was taken by LUFA-represented faculty, librarians and counsellors. While much of the campus’ day-to-day operations have continued, the suspension of classes and faculty-led academic work accumulates in uncertainty for students as they try to plan their term and complete program requirements.