The Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) is the professional association for the teachers of Alberta, Canada. It represents all teachers and teacher administrators in all schools in Alberta's public, separate and francophone school divisions. It also represents teachers in some charter and private schools. There are currently 43,500 members of the ATA. It is affiliated with other teacher organizations in Canada through the Canadian Teachers' Federation.
The Alberta Teachers' Association, as the professional organization of teachers, promotes and advances public education, safeguards standards of professional practice and serves as the advocate for its members.
History
The Alberta Teachers' Alliance was established during the First World War, due to efforts made by John Walker Barnett, Mary Crawford and others. Faced with constant opposition from government and employees, teachers had no basic contractual rights, no guarantee of a minimum wage and no mechanism for appealing dismissals. In addition, they were generally treated poorly in the communities they served. A two-week-long strike by Edmonton teachers in 1921 secured the ATA the right to have access to the sittings of the school boards and some status as the teachers' bargaining unit.Kostek, A Century and Ten, p. 221, 253 Teachers learned during those difficult years that being united and having a dedicated leadership could help them shape the future. The organizing zeal of John Barnett, the first full-time general secretary-treasurer of the Alberta Teachers' Alliance, was the stuff of legend. Barnett's dedication to the profession was recognized when the Association's Edmonton headquarters were named after him.
The Alberta government passed the Teaching Profession Act in 1936, giving a legal foundation to the Alberta Teachers' Association, the new name for the teachers' union. The determination to have teaching recognized as a profession united teachers and became the moral basis for the new organization. Over the next 10 years, the government approved legislation giving teachers a process for appealing dismissals, a pension plan and the right to bargain collectively. In addition, the government established the university as the home for teacher preparation, replacing the former "normal" schools.
In 2002, about 21,000 Alberta teachers went on strike for three weeks. At the time it was said to be the largest strike action in Alberta history.
In October 2025, the first province-wide teachers' strike in Alberta's history began October 6 and ended on 29 October when about 51,000 teachers, members of the ATA, stayed home. The strike affected about 750,000 students in 2500 public, Catholic and francophone schools. The strike was said to be largest in Alberta's history. The trade union did not offer strike pay to its members while they were on strike.
Past presidents
Years President 1917–19 George D Misener 1919–20 Thomas E A Stanley 1920–22 Hubert C Newland 1922–23 Charles E Peasley 1923–24 John E Somerville 1924–25 William W Scott 1925–26 Frederick Parker 1926–27 Alfred Waite 1927–28 Harry C Sweet 1928–29 Harry D Ainlay 1929–30 Arthur J H Powell 1930–31 Roland D Webb 1931–32 Cedric O Hicks 1932–33 Milton W Brock 1933–34 George A Clayton 1934–35 Edward J Thorlakson 1935–36 Gordon G Harman 1936–37 Eric C Ansley 1937–39 Milton E LaZerte 1939–41 Raymond E Shaul 1941–43 James A Smith 1943–45 Clarence Sansom 1945–47 Harold C Melsness 1947–48 Herbert E Smith 1948–49 Edgar T Wiggins 1949–51 Frederick J C Seymour 1951–53 Marian Gimby 1953–54 Lars Olson 1954–55 Frank J Edwards 1955–56 George S Lakie 1956–57 H J McKim Ross 1957–59 Inez K Castleton 1959–60 Richard F Staples 1960–61 Arthur D G Yates 1961–62 John A McDonald 1962–63 Hugh C McCall 1963–64 Thomas F Rieger 1964–65 L Jean Scott 1965–66 Malcolm W McDonnell 1966–67 Frank W Hoskyn 1967–68 Bernie T Keeler 1968–69 Arthur M Arbeau 1969–71 Ivan P Stonehocker 1971–72 Walter L Hughes 1972–74 Murray Jampolsky 1974–76 Patricia M English 1976–77 Halvar C Jonson 1977–82 K Mac Kryzanowski 1982–84 Arthur V R Cowley 1984–87 Nadene M Thomas 1987–90 Brendan D Dunphy 1990–93 Frances M Savage 1993–99 Bauni M Mackay 1999–2003 Larry Booi 2003–09 Frank Bruseker 2009–13 Carol Henderson 2013–17 Mark Ramsankar 2017–19 Greg Jeffery2019–PresentJason Schilling
Specialist councils
The ATA features a range of specialist councils created to foster professional development of teachers interested in common curriculum or specialty areas. The current councils are:
Alberta School Library Council Career and Technology Studies Council Le Conseil francais Council on School Administration Early Childhood Education Council Educational Technology Council English as a Second Language Council English Language Arts Council Fine Arts Council Global Environmental and Outdoor Education Council Guidance Council Health and Physical Education Council Intercultural and Second Languages Council Mathematics Council Middle Years Council Outreach Education Council Religious and Moral Education Council Science Council Social Studies Council Council for Inclusive Education
References
External links
ATA Global Environmental and Outdoor Education Specialist Council Web site