Employment standards · Labour relations
Federal strike timeline calculator.
Under the Canada Labour Code a union cannot strike until a 21-day cooling-off period has run after the Minister's conciliation step. Enter the date the Minister notified the parties and see when the cooling-off ends and the earliest day a strike can begin.
A federal strike cannot start until 21 days have elapsed after the date the Minister notified the parties (s.89(1)(d)), the union must have held a strike vote within the previous 60 days (s.87.3(1)), and it must give 72 hours' notice (s.87.2). Counting that trigger date as day 0, the first day a strike can begin is day 22.
Enter the dates you know
Earliest strike day
Enter the Minister's notification date and press Calculate.
What this does and does not cover
This tool only counts days from dates you enter. It does not tell you a strike is lawful. It does not compute the conciliation steps in ss.72 to 75, so it takes the Minister's notification date as an input. It also does not check the notice to bargain (s.89(1)(a)-(b)), the s.71 notice or Ministerial action (s.89(1)(c)), the Board's determination on maintenance of activities (ss.87.4 and 89(1)(e)), or how a vote was conducted. Confirm the full sequence with the Canada Industrial Relations Board or a labour lawyer.
How the days are counted
Section 89(1)(d) requires that "twenty-one days have elapsed after the date on which the Minister" gave the notice or report. The Interpretation Act, s.27(4), says a time expressed to begin after a specified day does not include that day. So the Minister's date is day 0, day 21 is the last day of the wait, and a strike may begin on day 22. The 15-day limit in s.72(1) and the 60-day vote limit in s.87.3(1) are counted the same way, with the last permitted day shown. If you need a different reading, confirm it with the Board.
Strike vote
Section 87.3(1): a union may not declare or authorize a strike unless it has, within the previous sixty days, or any longer period agreed in writing with the employer, held a secret ballot vote and received majority approval of the employees who voted. The date shown is the last day the union can declare or authorize a strike on that vote.
Last-offer votes do not change the clock
Section 108.1(2): a Minister's direction that a vote on the employer's last offer be held, or the holding of that vote, does not abridge or extend any time limit or period in Part I, including those in s.89. Nothing to enter for it here.
Sources, read 29 September 2026: s.71, s.72, s.87.2, s.89, s.87.3, s.108.1, and the Interpretation Act s.27.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the cooling-off period before a federal strike?
21 days after the date the Minister gave one of the notices or reports listed in s.89(1)(d). Weekends and holidays count.
Is the 72-hour notice part of the 21 days?
No. They are separate requirements. The 72-hour notice under s.87.2 can be given in circumstances set by s.87.2(4), and the strike cannot start until both it and the 21 days have run. The 72-hour notice calculator on this site covers the hours.
Does a vote on the employer's last offer shorten or extend the wait?
No. Section 108.1(2) says it does not abridge or extend any period in Part I, including those in s.89.
Does this apply to provincially regulated workplaces?
No. It covers the federal Canada Labour Code only. Provincial codes have their own sequences.
Not legal advice
This is general date arithmetic, not legal advice, and it cannot confirm a strike is lawful. Other preconditions apply. This runs entirely in your browser: nothing you enter is transmitted, stored, or logged.