A union strikes not because they want to withhold work from their company, but because even though both the company and the union members want to work, the strike shifts the power balance.

Similarly, Canadian journalists could have gotten together to withhold links from Google & Meta until they got a better deal. They'd both be worse off during the duration of the strike, but negotiations could get a better long term deal. And in this metaphor, Meta is doing a pre-emptive lockout.

The biggest difference is that the government is helping journalists combat the defector problem.