About the Labour Relations Academy of Canada
A home for all labour professionals. Led by some of the most highly experienced practitioners in Canada, we help individuals and organizations to thrive in these difficult times.
Who We Are
Decades of experience.
The team at the Labour Relations Academy of Canada have been leaders in labour relations across Canada in management, union and neutral roles for many decades. We have worked in every industry and area of the field: collective bargaining, grievance handling, arbitration, mediation, strike and lockouts — most importantly, we have been building strong union/management relations and cultures for decades.
Every facilitator and coach at the LR Academy has decades of labour relations experience from the management side, the union side, and at times both. Our professional development training is the most advanced and practical in Canada.
Our team has negotiated thousands of collective agreements, resolved thousands of grievances, and led hundreds of arbitration hearings. Most importantly, our team has supported hundreds of workplaces in transforming the culture to one where parties resolve issues effectively, bargain efficiently, and focus on achieving organizational success.
The Problem We're Solving
A large experience gap and very little high-quality professional development.
We have identified two critical trends: First, the significant turnover of leaders in both management and unions, leaving a large experience gap in many organizations. Secondly, there is very little high-quality professional development for leaders across the union and management ranks.
The LR Academy has been founded to address these issues, with practical, hands-on training designed for immediate application on Monday morning.
Supporting All Sides
One Academy. Three ways to train.
Management and unions share a destiny, neither can succeed or be effective without the other. We offer skills, tools and training that benefits and supports both parties. There is no such thing as a partnership that only works for one party.
Management
For leadership teams preparing for bargaining, handling grievances, or building day-to-day labour relations capability.
Joint Delivery
Management and union leaders in the same room. Pre-bargaining alignment. Joint problem-solving. Rarely available in Canada.
Union
For union executives and stewards building skills in contract administration, bargaining strategy, and workplace problem-solving.
Support Guarantee
We stand behind our training — and we stand with our participants.
Training cannot be a one-off experience. To support every participant from our workshops, we offer a full Support Guarantee — at any time in the future, participants can reach out to the facilitators and coaches from their workshop at no cost for help and support.
We stand behind our training, and we stand with our participants.
Community
The LR Round Table
At the Academy, we are committed to ongoing improvement of labour relations in Canada. We host monthly LR Round Table events where anyone, whether they've taken our training or not, can attend and explore issues, concerns or best practices in a safe setting.
There is no cost for these events. Simply register to reserve a spot. Earn an Executive Certificate in Labour Relations from the Academy. Be first to know when the Certificate Program is launched.
OUR TEAM
Lead Facilitators & Coaches
Every facilitator and coach brings decades of frontline experience. Each is available to participants long after their program ends.
Gary Furlong
30 years mediating collective agreements across Canada, twenty years as lead facilitator at Queen's Industrial Relations Centre.
Blaine Donais
Over 30 years as union-side labour lawyer leading collective bargaining and grievance administration, author of numerous books, founder of Workplace Fairness International.
Marshall Schnapp
Over 10 years training and mediating with unions and management in challenging workplaces, many years as external ombuds for numerous municipalities in Canada.
Al Loyst
45 years lead union negotiator for CAW/Unifor, 25 years coach and facilitator at Queen's Industrial Relations Centre.
Mike Lumb
32-year career in public education. Local president and lead negotiator for Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, 8+ years coach and facilitator at Queen's Industrial Relations Centre.
Leanne Gray
Over 30 years in senior HR/LR positions ranging from manufacturing, municipalities, policing and health care.
Cathy Loyst
Over 25 years in elected union positions, including 16 years as a local president negotiating agreements and grievances.
Andy Macdonald
35 years in roles including elected union executive, fire chief and emergency services leader, and 20+ years facilitator and coach at Queen's Industrial Relations Centre.
Anne Healy
Over 30 years as union and management leader with CUPE, as well as a workplace mediator in Ontario.
Allison Arnold
Over 25 years in human resources, strategy and labour relations at Wilfred Laurier University, leading collective bargaining and union-management relationships in academic and non-academic employee groups.
Senior Consultants
Hemi and Al are some of the most experience labour relations leaders in Canada.
Academic Partnership
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Conrad Grebel University College,
University of Waterloo
The Academy operates in formal partnership with Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo. Conrad Grebel is the certificate issuer and registration handler for all public programs from day one.
This partnership gives participants a recognized university certificate — and gives the Academy the administrative backbone to focus entirely on what it does best: designing and delivering world-class labour relations training.
Coming Fall 2027
Executive Certificate in Labour Relations
Earn an Executive Certificate in Labour Relations from the Academy. Be first to know when the Certificate Program is launched.
The LR Fix
One practical insight into a common labour relations situation,
twice a month on a Monday morning.
Free.