Air Canada CEO to retire after criticism for English-only condolence video

"It has been my great honour to work with the dedicated and talented people of Air Canada and to represent our outstanding organisation."

— Michael Rousseau , Executive

"I sincerely apologise for this, but I am continuing my efforts to improve."

— Michael Rousseau , Executive

"a lack of compassion"

— Mark Carney , Politician

"he believed Rousseau should step down if he was unable to speak French."

— François Legault , Politician

"The English-only message showed a lack of compassion and judgment."

— Mark Carney , Politician

"Thanked Rousseau in a social media post."

— Steven MacKinnon , Politician

"I am deeply saddened that my inability to speak French has diverted attention from the profound grief of the families."

— Michael Rousseau , Executive

"It showed a lack of compassion and judgment."

— Mark Carney , Politician

"When Rousseau was appointed president of the airline in February 2021, he promised to learn French."

— François Legault , Politician

"He would rather the CEO of Canada’s flagship carrier focus his scarce time on safety and reliability than language training."

— Jason Kenney , Politician

"I am extremely disappointed by the message released by the CEO of Air Canada."

— Mark Carney , Politician

"If he still doesn’t speak French today, it’s disrespectful to his employees and to his francophone customers, so yes, I think that if he doesn’t speak French, he should resign."

— François Legault , Politician

"I am deeply saddened that my inability to speak French has diverted attention from the profound grief of the families and the great resilience of Air Canada’s employees."

— Michael Rousseau , Executive

"I was very disappointed."

— Mark Carney , Politician

"These were two young men at the start of their career, so it’s an absolute tragedy that we’re sitting here with their loss."

— Bran Bedford , Executive

"On behalf of the entire Board, I want to thank Mike for his many contributions to Air Canada."

— Vagn Sørensen , Executive

"It has been my great honour to work with the dedicated and talented people of Air Canada."

— Michael Rousseau , Executive