Chants of "no us, no bus," that rang out during a practice picket on Thursday morning may not be heard again in Barrie.
After 14 hours of negotiations, representatives from Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1775 and MVT Canadian Bus reached a tentative last-minute deal, potentially averting what would have been the city’s first transit strike.
Previous talks at the beginning of the month went nowhere, prompting the Ministry of Labour to step in and institute a mandatory 21-day cooling-off period Friday represented the last shot at hammering out a deal before a strike date set for Monday.
Union members are set to vote on ratification Sunday, with results expected later that evening. The contract needs at least 51 per cent support to be approved.
Details of the tentative agreement have not yet been released.
The union, which represents roughly 200 local workers, has been without a contract since June 30, and had been negotiating since about two months prior to its end.
Talks had stalled last fall and again earlier this year with its employer, MVT Canadian Bus. The union voted 96.5 per cent in favour of job action in November.
Trew said the two sides had been "light years apart on a few points," much of which involved scheduling issues and safety concerns. Other points of contention included benefits and compensation parity.
Now, he says he's "fairly confident" the deal will be ratified on Sunday.
MV Transit, MVT Canadian Bus' parent company which holds the 20-year daily operation contract with the City of Barrie, did not responded to request for comment. However, the City commended the company and union executives for reaching this point.
There had been concerns from the union prior to Friday that the union was not negotiating in good faith, alleging the company sent representatives that were not properly in tune with Canadian labour laws.
"I think they realize that we're not playing around," Trew said. "This is about far more than just money, and I think they came to the table serious as we have been.
Trew said this outcome likely would not have been possible without "phenomenal" support from transit riders, whose message and impact was seemingly felt at the bargaining table.
"We understand that this is very important to them," he said. "It's been nothing but an outpouring of positive support of our movement... We look forward to being able to have it business as usual."
Thursday's practice picket brought out honks of support from many driving by, including fellow bus drivers.
Many commuters around the Barrie Allandale Transit Terminal were also willing to take flyers and hear the union members out as they detailed their cause.
Barrie Transit ridership in 2024 was over 4.1 million, but 2025 numbers have not been detailed.
According to the City’s 2026 business plan, the system operates a fleet of 46 conventional buses, two electric buses, 15 specialized accessible vehicles and seven units for Transit ON Demand.
