Canada’s nurses urge health ministers to tackle violence against health care workers

October 15, 2025 (OTTAWA, ON) – Canada’s health ministers are joining nurse union leaders from across the country for a policy meeting focused on tackling growing violence against health care workers.

“Violence has become a constant threat for nurses and health care professionals while they’re at work. Facing violence at work is unacceptable and would not be tolerated in other workplaces. We have to change the culture of health care workplaces so that violence against nurses and health care professionals does not remain a norm,” explained Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU).

“Nurses and health care workers deserve safety at work, and not only that – they need healthy and safe workplaces to care for their patients.”

Six in 10 nurses reported experiencing violence over a one-year period at work, according to a 2025 national survey of CFNU members. The survey also found that 37% of respondents are not receiving workplace violence and harassment training, and 40% are not receiving a health and safety orientation.

Violence prevention is a critical step that all governments and employers must work towards to curb these high rates and protect health care workers.

The CFNU is calling on health ministers to use every tool at their disposal to eradicate violence against health care workers, including:

• Investing in training and prevention programs for workers and designated in-house security personnel
• Mandated minimum nurse-patient ratios to reduce risks of violence exacerbated by excessive workloads
• Enforcement of the Criminal Code and occupational health and safety legislation to punish and deter violence, including penalties for negligent employers
• Installing violence prevention infrastructure, such as weapons detection systems, surveillance cameras and personal alarms for workers.

“Violence is a systemic challenge across health workplaces, and we need a coordinated multi-pronged approach from governments and employers to effectively tackle it,” Silas said. “Violence is not and should never be part of the job.”

Silas will be joined by provincial nurse union leaders at CFNU’s health care briefing on October 17 in Calgary, Alberta.

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The CFNU is Canada’s largest nurses’ organization, representing 250,000 frontline unionized nurses and nursing students in every sector of health care – from home care and LTC to community and acute care – and advocating on key priorities to strengthen public health care across the country.