Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau, who faced criticism in late 2021 over an airy public statement that he lived in Montreal quite comfortably without any French, is in eau chaude again for an English‑only condolence video for the pilots who died at La Guardia this week, one of whom, Antoine Forest, was a guy from Coteau du Lac with a francophone name.
For an executive so high in a major organization, this man comes off as uniquely obtuse. Shouldn’t the airline have found some way over the last four years to get Rousseau some expensive high‑end crash French lessons? There must be firms that offer this kind of thing, zero to functional fluency for diplomats and cushy executives in eight weeks? But Rousseau’s had more than four years to catch up – and nothin’.
Nicholas 00:57 on 2026-03-25 Permalink
Hard to imagine one could do a four-hours-a-week government group class for four years and not be able to read a short prepared statement on recorded video in broken French. I mean you could do five minutes a day of Duolingo for four years and be able to do that, in languages much harder than French, especially with multiple takes and cuts and a comms person helping you along. It’s the thought that counts, as does the lack of thought.
Mark 07:12 on 2026-03-25 Permalink
Not a huge fan of of politicians instrumentalizing this tragedy and deaths for their own purposes, but this Rousseau fellow isn’t making it easy for himself. My kids picked up more Italian in two weeks this summer.
Also, not that it matters because 4 years should have been plenty enough, but he’s been with Air Canada since like 2007 and in Montreal for more than a decade, all in high level executive positions that should have required some functional French. Other than work, I’m just amazed how you can live here this long and not pick up at least some basic conversations. It’s almost impressive in a bad way.
Kate 09:21 on 2026-03-25 Permalink
Especially with a surname like Rousseau – !
GC 12:47 on 2026-03-25 Permalink
If he actually started learning in 2021, he would for sure be able to read a prepared statement by now, as Nicholas said. He wouldn’t even need to be the one who wrote it. He probably didn’t write the English statement himself, realistically.
What amazes me is how he’s so tone deaf to keep repeating the same gaffe.
Kevin 22:48 on 2026-03-25 Permalink
Something something Marc Andreesen unexamined life.
Kate 15:24 on 2026-03-26 Permalink
Nicholas, some years ago I worked on a quadrilingual print project – English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Before we started, I did the entire Spanish Duolingo course as it was then. I wanted to be sure we were matching up all the right texts in the right places and took a guess that if I did the Spanish course, I could also puzzle out the Portuguese.
Shortly afterwards, a woman came up to me on Jean‑Talon near St‑Laurent and asked me, in Spanish, how to get to Côte-des-Neiges. And I was able to understand her and explain that she had to take the bus on the other side of the street.
I am good at written text but not great at spoken. But I managed. If I can do it, why not the CEO of a major airline? What made Rousseau smart enough to be a CEO but not only unable to read out a brief French text from a prompter but stupid enough to think skipping French would be acceptable?
R T 16:43 on 2026-03-26 Permalink
I know that other airlines have the CEO regularly rehearse video statements to be made after a crash. I think it’s likely that they rehearsed with Rousseau in French before and decided that his French could never, ever be seen in public.