The Ontario Nurses’ Association

Professional Union / Labour Associationona.org

Founded in 1973, the Ontario Nurses' Association is Canada's largest nurses' union, representing 68,000+ nurses and health-care professionals and 18,000 nursing student affiliates across Ontario through collective bargaining, member benefits, and advocacy.

Company typePrivate
Founded1973
HeadquartersToronto, Canada
Headcount251–500
GTM typeB2C
OfferingServices

What The Ontario Nurses’ Association does

The Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) is a non-profit professional union founded in 1973 and headquartered at 85 Grenville Street, Toronto. Self-described as Canada's largest nurses' union, ONA represents over 68,000 registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and allied health-care professionals, plus 18,000 nursing student affiliates, working across Ontario hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health units, home care, community health centres, clinics, and industry. Its core service is collective bargaining and contract enforcement across provincial sectoral agreements, supplemented by a member portal (Access ONA), benefit programs, pension support, professional liability insurance, legal assistance, scholarships, and an eLearning catalogue.

ONA is funded entirely through membership dues collected via employer payroll deductions, with dues also extended to new bargaining units won through certification. The union operates through a regional and local structure that delivers field-level member service and runs organizing campaigns to add new workplaces, with recent wins at Ontario Health atHome and Fairview Mennonite Home. Public positioning is shaped by advocacy campaigns such as Code Black & Blue (workplace violence), Nurses Talk Truth (anti-privatization), the F-Word digital magazine, and constitutional challenges to Bill 124 and the HLDAA. The organization is governed by an elected Board of Directors led by Provincial President Erin Ariss (elected May 2023) and CEO Andrea Kay, and is a member of the Ontario Federation of Labour and the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.

Technology is not a productized surface: the member portal, content channels, and educational tools are operational infrastructure rather than monetized offerings, and there is no disclosed AI/ML capability. Competitive position rests on statutory bargaining rights, membership scale, and a 50-year operating history rather than product differentiation.

The Ontario Nurses’ Association firmographics

Firmographics

Name: The Ontario Nurses’ Association
Legal name: Ontario Nurses' Association
Website: https://ona.org
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1973
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 251–500 employees
Short description: Founded in 1973, the Ontario Nurses' Association is Canada's largest nurses' union, representing 68,000+ nurses and health-care professionals and 18,000 nursing student affiliates across Ontario through collective bargaining, member benefits, and advocacy.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

The Ontario Nurses’ Association industry classification

Industry

Product category: Professional Union / Labour Association
NAICS: Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)
SIC: Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
akta.pro industry: PRIMARYHLAEALAI
Member Services & Contact Center Operations (TPA)
Healthcare & Life Sciences/Health Insurance & Managed Care/Third-Party Administration (TPA) & Administrative Services Only (ASO)

Keywords

Nurses union representation
Collective bargaining services
Healthcare member advocacy
Professional liability insurance
Union member benefits

Where The Ontario Nurses’ Association is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Toronto
HQ country: Canada
HQ region: North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

The Ontario Nurses’ Association business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

Union Dues: ONA generates revenue through membership dues paid by nurses and health-care professionals. Dues fund collective bargaining, member representation, education programs, benefits, insurance, and advocacy services.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Subscription	Monthly	Standard union membership dues

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

The Ontario Nurses’ Association product offering

Product offering

Core offering

The Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) is Canada's largest nurses' union, representing over 68,000 registered nurses, health-care professionals, and 18,000 nursing student affiliates across Ontario. ONA negotiates and enforces provincial and local collective agreements in hospitals, long-term care, public health, home care, clinics, and community health sectors. Members receive benefits (health, dental, insurance, pension), legal assistance, professional liability insurance, education and development programs, and scholarships, alongside advocacy on workplace safety, staffing levels, and constitutional labour rights.

Product overview

The Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) is Canada's largest nurses' union offering a comprehensive suite of member services and advocacy programs. The organization provides union membership representation for over 68,000 nurses and health-care professionals across hospitals, long-term care, public health, home care, clinics, and community settings. ONA's member portal (Access ONA) delivers digital services including contract access, collective bargaining updates, and member communications. The union's service portfolio encompasses benefit programs, pension planning, legal assistance, liability insurance, and professional development through education workshops and eLearning. ONA also conducts advocacy campaigns on issues including safe staffing ratios, workplace violence prevention (Code Black and Blue), anti-privatization efforts (Nurses Talk Truth), and constitutional challenges to labour legislation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

Code Black & Blue: A workplace violence awareness campaign launched by ONA to highlight violence against nurses and health-care professionals.
Nurses Talk Truth
F-Word Magazine

Products and services

ONA Membership
Collective Bargaining Services
Benefit Program
Pension Plans
Legal Assistance
Liability Insurance
Education and Workshops
Scholarships and Bursaries
WSIB Support
F-Word Magazine

Quantifiable outcome

Successfully challenged Bill 124 wage restraint legislation as unconstitutional
+1 more outcomes

Companies that use The Ontario Nurses’ Association

Customer profile

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

The Ontario Nurses’ Association technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

The Ontario Nurses’ Association partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

Joint Labour Union Letter on Supervised Consumption SitesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2024ONA joined with 15 other Ontario labour unions (CUPE, OPSEU/SEFPO, OFL, and others) in a joint letter calling on Premier Ford to reverse closure of supervised consumption sites. Represents hundreds of thousands of workers across Ontario.
Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerONA is a member of the Ontario Federation of Labour, Ontario's largest labour federation representing over one million workers. ONA participates in joint campaigns, advocacy efforts, and solidarity actions with other OFL member unions.
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerONA is a member of the CFNU, the umbrella organization for nursing unions across nine provinces, representing over 250,000 nurses. ONA's First Vice-President served as CFNU Secretary-Treasurer.
CUPE OntariomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerONA works with CUPE Ontario on joint advocacy campaigns including protecting workers' right to strike, supervised consumption sites, and public healthcare. Joint statements on healthcare privatization and labour rights.
OPSEU/SEFPOmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerONA collaborates with OPSEU/SEFPO on healthcare advocacy, public services campaigns, and joint op-eds on issues like home care reform and college funding.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

The Ontario Nurses’ Association competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU): Umbrella federation of provincial nursing unions across Canada representing over 250,000 nurses. ONA is a member union, making CFNU the closest horizontal peer in scale, mission, and constituency.
BC Nurses' Union (BCNU): Provincial nurses' union representing BC's registered and psychiatric nurses. Directly comparable to ONA in member type, collective bargaining mandate, and provincial jurisdiction.
Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN): Provincial nurses' union in Saskatchewan with collective bargaining and member representation functions parallel to ONA's. Comparable union model, dues-funded, single-province footprint.
Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU): Provincial union representing Manitoba's nurses with similar bargaining, advocacy, and member service portfolio. Direct peer in structure and mandate.
Nova Scotia Nurses' Union (NSNU): Provincial nurses' union in Nova Scotia representing licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, and nurse practitioners. Comparable in scope, bargaining model, and member services to ONA.
New Brunswick Nurses Union (NBNU): Provincial nurses' union representing New Brunswick nurses. Comparable to ONA in bargaining structure, dues-funded membership, and provincial-level advocacy.
Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ): Quebec's healthcare professional union representing over 80,000 nurses and allied professionals. Closest francophone peer in scale and structure, providing comparable collective bargaining and member services.

Broad incumbents

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario: One of Canada's largest unions representing a broad range of public-sector workers including some healthcare staff. Allied partner to ONA but covers many occupations beyond nursing, making it a larger, broader incumbent in adjacent territory.
OPSEU/SEFPO (Ontario Public Service Employees Union): Ontario union representing public sector workers across many job categories, including healthcare professionals. Collaborates with ONA on advocacy but is broader in scope, making it a broad incumbent rather than direct competitor.

Regional players

National Nurses United (NNU): Largest US nurses' union with similar collective bargaining, advocacy, and member representation model. Comparable in mission and structure but operates in a different national jurisdiction.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

The Ontario Nurses’ Association compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance2 records

The Ontario Nurses’ Association financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

The Ontario Nurses’ Association leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

The Ontario Nurses’ Association funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

The Ontario Nurses’ Association M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Ontario Nurses’ Association

What does The Ontario Nurses’ Association do?

Is The Ontario Nurses’ Association a public or private company?

The Ontario Nurses’ Association is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was The Ontario Nurses’ Association founded?

The Ontario Nurses’ Association was founded in 1973. It employs 251 to 500 people.

Where is The Ontario Nurses’ Association based?

The Ontario Nurses’ Association is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, in the North America region.

How does The Ontario Nurses’ Association make money?

One revenue line is on record: union Dues.

Who are The Ontario Nurses’ Association's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU), BC Nurses' Union (BCNU), Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN), Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU), Nova Scotia Nurses' Union (NSNU), New Brunswick Nurses Union (NBNU) and Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ). Broad incumbents are Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario and OPSEU/SEFPO (Ontario Public Service Employees Union). National Nurses United (NNU) is listed as a regional player.

Does The Ontario Nurses’ Association have an API?

No public API is recorded for The Ontario Nurses’ Association.

What industry is The Ontario Nurses’ Association in?

The Ontario Nurses’ Association's product category is Professional Union / Labour Association. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAEALAI, Member Services & Contact Center Operations (TPA). Its NAICS code is 8139 and its SIC code is 8600.