ONA Demands Resident Care, Not Profit at Ontario Long Term Care Association Annual General Meeting

TORONTO, March 23, 2026 /CNW/ - Today, dozens of nurses and health-care professionals, members of the Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA), staged a protest at the Ontario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA) Annual General Meeting in Toronto. In April, more than 4,400 ONA nursing homes members will negotiate a new collective agreement with their employers. They are demanding an end to corporate profits and a reinvestment of monies into staffing ratios, fair wages and better resident care.

"For far too long, for-profit nursing home CEOs have been raking in millions of dollars in profits, with little accountability to residents, their families and Ontarians," says ONA Provincial President Erin Ariss, RN. "The OLTCA says they advocate for data-informed solutions that improve quality of life for seniors. Well ONA has a data-informed solution: end corporate greed. Put care over profits and invest in your front-line staff."

During the pandemic, despite the remarkable efforts of health-care workers, residents in for-profit nursing homes were 25 per cent more likely to be hospitalized and 10 per cent more likely to die from COVID-19. This is because private, for-profit nursing homes prioritize corporate profits over care. For example, Extendicare, one of the largest nursing home chains in the province and board member of the OLTCA, reported a whopping $96,656,000 in net earnings in 2025, up 28 per cent over the last year. Other chains, like Southbridge Care Homes do not even publicly report their profits, despite receiving public funding from the provincial government to operate.

"Under the Ford Conservatives, we've seen non-profit nursing homes shut down, while funds and contracts are awarded to for-profit homes, allowing them to expand," explains Ariss. "Residents deserve high-quality, timely care and the best way to ensure that is by implementing staffing ratios and fair wages."

The Ford government has a role to play in holding these corporations accountable. By ending corporate greed, mandating safe staffing ratios and increasing funding to the sector, Ontario can ensure high-quality, timely resident care.

ONA is the union representing 68,000 health-care professionals, along with 18,000 nursing student affiliates, who provide care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, community settings, clinics, and industry.

SOURCE Ontario Nurses' Association

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