Students, parents and teachers were awake before the sun rose in Alberta on Wednesday morning, packing lunches, arranging backpacks and zipping coats — starting their back-to-school routines for the second time this school year.

A weeks-long, provincewide teachers’ strike is over, after the Alberta government fast-tracked a bill this week that invoked the notwithstanding clause.

It forced 51,000 public, Catholic and francophone school teachers back to their classrooms — and imposed a deal on them that 90 per cent of teachers had already voted to reject during negotiations.

There were mixed emotions during drop-offs at schools throughout the province, as roughly 750,000 students packed into their classrooms once again.

'Mixed feelings' among Alberta students, parents amid return to scho

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