CWA Canada vows to fight Ubisoft Halifax closure, defend workers

HALIFAX (Jan. 7, 2026) – CWA Canada will “pursue every legal recourse” to protect our members at Ubisoft Halifax after the company announced today that it is shutting down the operation just three weeks after workers voted to unionize.

The timing of Ubisoft’s announcement raises many questions for which we do yet have answers. 

Ubisoft’s business in Halifax has been a successful operation for more than 10 years. On Dec.18, workers’ votes were counted and were overwhelmingly in favour of joining our union.

In Canada, it is unlawful for a business to close because its workers decide to unionize. While we are not saying that this is what happened here, we will be demanding information from Ubisoft about the reason for the sudden decision to close.

“Today’s news is devastating,” CWA Canada President Carmel Smyth said. “We will pursue every legal recourse to ensure that the rights of these workers are respected and not infringed in any way.”

“We will be looking for Ubisoft to show us that this had nothing to do with the employees joining a union. The workers, their families, the people of Nova Scotia, and all of us who love video games made in Canada, deserve nothing less.”

Jon Huffman, a member of the Ubisoft union organizing committee, said the workers stand united.

“We’re obviously disappointed by this news and fully intend to support each other through this difficult time,” he said.

Ubisoft Halifax includes about 60 producers, programmers, designers, artists, researchers and development testers. They are part of CWA Canada Local 30111, which includes nearly 120 game workers at Bethesda Game Studios (BGS) in Montreal, and staff at the Montreal Gazette newspaper.

CWA Canada is the country’s only all-media union, representing 6,000 workers at the CBC, The Canadian Press, and newspapers, tech, digital media, video gaming, and other companies coast to coast.