Who We Are

Ontario Nurses’ Association

Founded in 1973, the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) is the trade union that represents 58,000 registered nurses and allied health professionals working throughout Ontario, including:

• hospitals
• community health
• long-term care
• public health
• clinics
• industry

Each facility represented by ONA has a Bargaining Unit President that oversees union activities within that facility. The provincial organization is divided into Locals, which is headed by a Local Coordinator. Bargaining Unit Presidents as well as Local Coordinators are ONA members, and are members' best source of information as it pertains to their facility.

ONA works in collaboration with other unions and maintains strong links with other nurses’ unions in Canada. ONA is a member of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU), and thereby affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). ONA is also a member of the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL).

Our Mission

The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) is a proactive union committed to improving the economic welfare and quality of work-life for our members, to enable them to provide high-quality health care.

Our Vision

Ontario Nurses’ Association: Our Union.
Respected. Strong. United. Committed to members who care for people.

Our Objectives

• The advancement of the social, economic and general welfare of registered and graduate nurses and allied personnel.
   
• The regulation of relations between registered and graduate nurses and allied personnel and their employers and the negotiation of written contracts with employers implementing progressively better conditions of employment.
   
• The promotion of effective communication with employers.
   
• The promotion of knowledge of registered and graduate nurses and allied personnel in all things related to their social and economic welfare through education and research.
   
• The promotion of the highest standards of health care.
   
• The promotion of unity within the nursing profession and other allied fields through co-operation with and support of other organizations sharing these objectives.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors, comprised of the CEO and seven elected officers – President, First Vice President, five Vice Presidents and the Chief Executive Officer (who acts as secretary) – is primarily responsible for setting the strategic direction of the organization. The Board manages ONA’s affairs between biennial conventions.