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"We've never left the table," Horner said in an interview Monday.

"We think this is a fair deal. We think this is a good deal."

More than a week after the Alberta Teachers' Association walked away from talks, president Jason Schilling told reporters the union is more than happy to come back.

However, he said the government needs to take teachers' concerns about classroom conditions and salary seriously.

"There is always two hands on this steering wheel when we talk about bargaining ... and when you come to an impasse, it means that both sides are unwilling to move forward," Schilling said.

The offer includes wage increases of 12 per cent over four years and a promise to hire 3,000 teachers over three years.

Horner said the government has put $2.3 billion on the table.

"We've heard it's about classroom complexity, not salaries. We feel that we've addressed both of those things, and yet we're still at this place," said Horner.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on a strike mandate given by the 51,000 rank-and-file members months ago.

The last possible day teachers could go on strike would be Oct. 7, and they would have to give 72 hours' notice.

The Teachers' Employer Bargaining Association, which represents school boards at the bargaining table, also has approval to initiate a lockout.

The union has long pointed to national statistics that indicate Alberta's per-student funding is among the country's lowest. 

Schilling has said teachers have seen a 5.75 per cent salary increase over the past decade, an environment that doesn't catch up with inflation and won't attract and retain teachers.

On Monday, he said parents need to press the government.

"They need to ask them why this seems to be acceptable to government that we find public education in this province in a crisis," he said.

"Why do we find ourselves in a situation where 40 seems to be the new norm for class sizes in many schools across this province?"

Horner has said the government is in a new kind of squeeze, facing down a deficit projected to hit $6.5 billion.

“The big change since April — the first deal — is the deteriorating fiscal position of the province," he said.

Horner said there is a good reason for slight increases to teacher pay in Alberta over the last 15 years: they were paid "above market" when those conversations first began.

“We needed to align ourselves more closely with the comparator provinces. Alberta can't afford to be an outlier in that way, so we feel that this deal addresses that catch-up and places us strongly in market," said Horner.

This report by °µÍø½ûÇø was first published Sept. 8, 2025.