At 10:15 a.m. on Oct. 30, Grade 12 student EJ Igao stood up during his second-period Theory of Knowledge (philosophy) class and walked out with about 100 of his peers. 

The students at the Grande Prairie Composite High School were among many across the province staging a walkout to protest the government's treatment of their teachers.

“If the Alberta government can remove a teacher's rights, they can remove yours as well; it sets a precedent,” said Igao into a megaphone to his peers in the school’s parking lot.  

Teachers were ordered back to work by the provincial government's use of the notwithstanding clause in the Charter, ending the three-week strike. 

Students returned to the classroom on Wednesday, Oct. 29.

Igao, president of Grande Prairie Composite High School Student Council, helped organize the walkout.

“We students are here to support teachers,” he said to a cheering crowd.

“I also want to remind everyone that this is a student-led event. 

“We are not affiliated with the teachers in any way; the teachers are not allowed to do this. 

“That is why we are here today to stand with the teachers and support the teachers, because we know public education is important.”

The Comp was one of more than 40 schools that saw students walk out. 

“It's disappointing to see that the state of education in our province has come to this,” Igao told the News.

He believes the province should have listened to the needs and concerns of teachers. 

Imogen Hudyma-Yungwirth, a Grade 12 student in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at the Comp, said last year she was in a classroom of 37 students. 

“Even in a classroom full of kids who love to learn, it was still hard to learn when the classes are so big that you can't move. 

“If you had to blow your nose in class, everyone had to shift because the class was so small.”

Hudyma-Yungwirth said they have volunteered in elementary schools and have seen firsthand the need for educational assistants (EA).

“I visited a school, through volunteering, and there were five kids with high needs in the class that each should have had an EA, but the classroom only had one .... and that was one of the better schools.

“For a teacher to have to regulate five or more kids with high needs, without any support from an EA, because the EA has to go cover for someone else because they got sick, it's too much, and the government's doing nothing to help.”

Bill 2 enacts the September 2025 agreement that teachers rejected by a 90 per cent vote.

It also includes penalties of $500,000 for the union and $500 for individuals who did not return to work.

Premier Danielle Smith says the use of the notwithstanding clause was needed to ensure students return to the classroom.

“Bill 2 puts students back at the centre of our system, while we continue to work with teachers and families to build lasting stability in Alberta’s schools,” she said.

Critics, including NDP opposition leader Naheed Nenshi, have described the move as “unconstitutional and antidemocratic.”

Igao said returning to school felt like they were coming back from a long weekend or a short break. 

“It's really interesting because the teachers can't really comment on the strike,” he said. 

“They're even too afraid to say the word strike. We're supposed to live in a place of free speech, with freedom of expression, and even that is being trampled now, so it's sad to see the state of our world and province today.”

Hudyma-Yungwirth said before walking out of class, they were scrolling social media, reading comments of “adults hating on teenagers.”

“I was telling my friend how I thought that was kind of funny that they were so upset about what teenagers were doing, because why do you care? 

“Especially because it's our education, not yours. 

“We're the ones who are concerned about it, and that really served to remind me of why we're doing this.

“There are a lot of people out here who don't support teachers, even though everything they're feeling and doing is really important.”

Igao said it's important that the student voice is heard, “We are the future generation of this country, of the city, of this province, we are the next workers here, no matter what profession you go into.”

Students left the parking lots holding signs and chanting, and made their way around the school.