Air Canada taps new CEO to replace chief who couldn’t speak French

MONTREAL - Air Canada named a new chief executive officer on July 8 to replace Michael Rousseau, who announced his retirement following controversy over his failure to issue condolences both in English and French after a fatal airport disaster.

Canada’s national carrier said Anko Van der Werff, currently the chief executive at Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), would take charge by the end of January 2027.

Van der Werff was chosen following “a comprehensive global search”, Air Canada said.

“The search considered a number of performance criteria, including the ability to communicate in French,” it added.

The incoming boss, who will also serve as president and sit on Air Canada’s board, said he was “mindful of the importance of serving Canadians in both official languages”.

Rousseau had sparked controversy by issuing an English-only video message to express condolences after a deadly collision late on March 22 between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

Canada has two official languages – English and French – and one of the pilots killed in the accident was from French-speaking Quebec.

Rousseau had issued an apology over his English-only message, regretting that he couldn’t express himself in French “despite many lessons over several years.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney – whose occasionally halting French was discussed when he entered politics in 2025 – also said at the time that he was “disappointed” by Rousseau’s unilingual message.

Air Canada is the country’s largest airline and is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec – Canada’s traditionally French-speaking province.

The company is required to offer services in both languages. AFP