Air Canada announced that its embattled chief executive will step down.

Michael Rousseau will retire by the end of the third quarter of 2026, the airline said in a news release Monday. He’ll continue to lead Air Canada and serve on the board of directors until that time, the company said.

Mr. Rousseau has sparked outrage and indignation in Quebec and Ottawa over his inability to speak French, one of Canada’s two official languages.

Last week, he ignited a storm of criticism for a video uploaded to the airline’s website in which he expressed his “deepest sorrow for everyone affected” by the LaGuardia airport accident and provided a factual update of the situation. He said only two words in French in the nearly four-minute video: “Bonjour” at the start and “merci” at the end.