Ontario Nurses' Association

03/16/2026

Registered nurses working to provide high-quality care to residents at Maxville Manor Long-Term Care voted overwhelmingly to join ONA recently.

“These registered nurses care deeply about their residents and have voted to strengthen the power of their advocacy by joining Canada’s largest nurses’ union. We welcome them to ONA and look forward to working with them to fight for the respect they so deserve,” notes ONA Provincial President Erin Ariss, RN.

Ariss says that along with so many other nurses and health-care professionals, the new Maxville Manor ONA members are deeply concerned about having a say in working conditions and are seeking improved transparency from their employer.

“By joining with ONA’s more than 68,000 members, these nurses will have the support to raise their collective voices to improve their working conditions and especially their ability to provide the best care possible. We welcome them and look forward to supporting them in their fight.”

See the release on our website: https://ona.org/news/20260316-maxville-manor-joins/

03/13/2026

03/13/2026

What do you get when educators from Ontario’s largest municipal teachers union and health-care professionals from Ontario’s largest health-care union unite in solidarity?

A labour movement that’s stronger than yesterday!

ONA members were thrilled to share this moment of solidarity with members of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto union at our Provincial Leadership Meeting in Toronto this week. And we look forward to standing together in the future to fight for workers rights in Ontario!

03/12/2026

ATTENTION Nursing Homes members! It's time to pick your bargaining demands! Register now for a virtual meeting on March 26 where you'll vote on bargaining proposals.

You told your elected bargaining team what your priorities are for your next contract at demand-setting meetings in 2025. Now it's time to vote on the proposals that will be put forward at provincial bargaining this April.

Join us on March 26 at 12 p.m. ET or at 6 p.m. ET to hear first-hand from your provincial negotiating team. They will present suggested amended collective agreement language developed from your demands, along with the reasoning behind the proposed language. You will have the opportunity to ask questions after each proposal.

Register now as registration closes March 25 at 4 p.m.! https://ona.org/news/nursing-homes-bargaining-vote/

03/11/2026

Early this morning, an army of ONA members erected a hard picket outside Southbridge Care Homes headquarters in Cambridge, ON.

This for-profit company makes millions every year off its long term care homes, and ONA is demanding they prioritize care and not profit in upcoming negotiations with nursing homes members.

So far Southbridge has been choosing stockholder profits over caring for its residents by making sure staff are fairly compensated and given the resources they need to provide care.

We'd love to tell you how much Southbridge has made off it's private care homes, but, unfortunately they keep their profits private. Why? What are they trying to hide?

Read our full media release: https://ona.org/news/20260311-southbridge-picket/

03/10/2026

We're thrilled to welcome ONA members and local leaders to the 2026 Provincial Leadership Meeting in Toronto this week. Over the next two days, they'll be catching up on all the latest news from the union and taking action on the issues that matter to health-care professionals!

03/09/2026

Nursing students, nurses and health-care professionals across the province, members of the Canadian Nursing Students’ Association (CNSA) and ONA, are deeply concerned by recent changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). These changes reduce non-repayable grants and increase reliance on student loans. These decisions risk creating additional financial barriers for students pursuing post-secondary education, including those entering essential professions such as nursing.

Nursing education is academically rigorous and clinically intensive with extensive course work, laboratory training, and more than 1,400 hours of unpaid clinical placements in hospitals, long-term care homes, and community settings before graduation. These requirements significantly limit students’ ability to maintain consistent employment while completing their studies. As a result, many nursing students rely heavily on financial assistance programs such as OSAP to support their education and living expenses.

Workforce projections estimate that Ontario could face a shortage of more than 30,000 nurses by the end of the decade if recruitment and retention challenges are not addressed. At a time when Ontario and Canada continue to face significant nursing shortages, policies that create additional barriers to nursing education raise serious concerns for the future of the health-care workforce.

The impact of reduced financial supports is not experienced equally. Increased reliance on loans and rising tuition costs disproportionately affects students from low-income families, Indigenous communities, rural and northern regions, first-generation post-secondary learners, racialized students, and students with disabilities. Financial barriers risk narrowing the diversity of the nursing workforce and limiting opportunities for students who bring critical lived experiences and perspectives to patient care.

The CNSA and ONA call on the government of Ontario to ensure that financial aid policies support equitable access to post-secondary education and do not create additional barriers for students pursuing essential health-care professions such as nursing.

Read our full media release, and quotes from CNSA officials and Erin Ariss: https://ona.org/news/20260309-cnsa-osap/

03/08/2026

We are proud be part of a strong international movement of advocacy and support for women. We recognize the achievements—and honour the struggles—of all women on International Women’s Day (IWD), March 8.

Nurses and health-care workers are leading the way and tackling discrimination head on, whether they are fighting for pay equity or trying to end violence and harassment in the workplace. Their knowledge, compassion and determination make them fierce advocates for their patients, residents and clients, as well as strong role models for all girls and women.

The international theme for 2026 is “Give to Gain,” which emphasizes the power of reciprocity and support. To learn more this year's theme and the significance of IWD, visit our website: https://ona.org/news/international-womens-day/