Air Canada pilots have voted to strike unless the airline meets their demands for better pay, retirement benefits and ‘quality of life improvements’.

Some 98% of Air Canada pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Association took part in the ballot, with 98% voting to strike.

Pilots will be legally allowed to walk out from mid-September, following an obligatory 21-day cooling off period starting on 26 August.

Air Canada has been talking to union chiefs since the start of the year to try to avert industrial action, but they haven’t managed to reach a deal.