"This is not a decision that I have taken lightly. The potential for immediate negative impact on Canadians and our economy is simply too great," Hajdu told journalists.

Air Canada said it plans to resume flights on Sunday after the Canadian government intervened and forced the airline and its striking flight attendants back to work and into arbitration.

“The impact of the work stoppage at Air Canada that began early this morning is already being felt by travelers,” Patty Hajdu, the labor minister in the Liberal government, told reporters.