Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau to retire later this year following language controversy

31-Mar-2026

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Air Canada president and CEO Michael Rousseau will retire sometime in the fall after nearly ⁠two ⁠decades with the airline, it said on March 30, a week after he made headlines by issuing an English-only message of condolence following the deadly crash of Flight 8646 in New York.

"Mr. Rousseau has reached a natural retirement age. His decision is consistent with the Board’s longstanding focus on CEO executive succession planning," a process that has been underway for more than two years internally, an airline spokesperson.