WeRPN

What WeRPN does

WeRPN (Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario), legal name The Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario, is a non-profit professional association founded in 1958 and headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, that serves as the exclusive province-wide voice for Ontario's 65,000 Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs). The organization provides advocacy at Queen's Park and to regulators, education programs, research funding and dissemination, and a suite of member services. Core offerings include the BEGIN tuition grant program (a partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Ministry of Long-Term Care providing up to $10,000 per year to students in PSW-RPN, PSW-RN, and RPN-RN bridging programs), the Nursing Education Initiative (NEI, providing up to $1,500 reimbursement per funding year for continuing education), and the Education Trust Fund bursary ($1,000 awards, with 20 awarded to students across Ontario in 2025).

The association's technology platform consists of a members portal (members.werpn.com) for membership registration and renewal, an e-commerce shop (eshop.werpn.com), an LMS dashboard for online courses, the WeRPN eLibrary (launched May 2025 containing 79+ RPN-focused research sources and 36 peer-reviewed scholarly articles), and the We Are Practical Nursing digital journal reaching approximately 10,000 monthly readers. Additional programs include the Ambassador Program (workplace and student advocates), a Mentorship Program connecting experienced and novice nurses, the RPN Research Fellowships ($12,500 each), the WeResearch initiative, and a Self-Care Toolkit supporting nurse resilience. Sub-brands include BEGIN, the Education Trust Fund, the We Are Practical Nursing Journal, the Nursing Education Initiative, and the WeRPN Resilience Initiatives Program.

WeRPN's business model is primarily subscription-based through annual membership dues from individual RPNs, supplemented by managed-services revenue from administering the BEGIN program for the Ontario Government, advertising and sponsorship revenue from the WeRPN Journal, professional services revenue from consulting engagements (including international advisory), and education/training program fees. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors composed of practicing RPNs and operates with a small staff of 11–50 employees. Effective June 29, 2026, Lori Singh will succeed retiring CEO Dianne Martin, who led the organization for nearly 20 years. The association also maintains research partnerships with Western University, the University of Toronto, and Unity Health Toronto, and works with the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) and Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) on regulatory matters.

Name

WeRPN

Legal name

The Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario

Website

https://werpn.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WeRPN is a non-profit professional association representing Ontario's 65,000 Registered Practical Nurses, providing advocacy, continuing education, research funding, liability insurance, tuition grants, and member services throughout Ontario, Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Nursing Association

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Patient Advocacy, Navigation & Access to Care (BPAGACAH)

Keywords

• Professional nursing association
• Nursing advocacy
• Continuing education
• Nursing scholarships
• Healthcare workforce

Headquarters

HQ city

Mississauga

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: WeRPN generates revenue through membership fees from Ontario's 65,000 RPNs. Membership provides access to liability insurance, savings and discounts, education programs, advocacy services, and professional resources.
2. Education and Training Programs: Revenue from online courses, continuing education, and professional development programs for RPNs including leadership courses and specialty training.
3. BEGIN Program Administration: Administration of the Bridging Educational Grant in Nursing (BEGIN) program, a partnership between WeRPN and the Ontario Government providing tuition grants to nursing students. The program provides up to $10,000 per year to eligible students in PSW-RPN, PSW-RN and RPN-RN programs.
4. Advertising and Sponsorship (WeRPN Journal): The WeRPN Journal 'We Are Practical Nursing' serves as an official publication offering advertising opportunities to reach Ontario's RPN audience with a monthly digital audience averaging 10,000.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

WeRPN is the professional association for Ontario's 65,000 Registered Practical Nurses, selling individual annual memberships that include advocacy representation, liability insurance, continuing-education grants (NEI up to $1,500/year), tuition grants (BEGIN up to $10,000/year), bursaries, online courses, mentorship, the WeRPN eLibrary, and member discounts. It also administers the BEGIN tuition-grant program in partnership with the Ontario Government and offers consulting/advisory services to healthcare organizations seeking to build productive RPN-inclusive workplaces.

Product overview

WeRPN (Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario) is a professional nursing association offering a suite of member services and programs. The core offering is WeRPN Membership, which provides advocacy, education resources, networking, and member benefits to Ontario's 65,000 RPNs. Key programs include the BEGIN Program (tuition grants up to $10,000/year), Nursing Education Initiative (NEI, up to $1,500 reimbursement), Education Trust Fund Bursaries ($1,000), and the Ambassador and Mentorship Programs for career development. WeRPN also operates the We Are Practical Nursing Journal as a digital magazine reaching 10,000 monthly readers, maintains the WeRPN eLibrary for research resources, and provides online tools including Self-Care Toolkit, Online Courses, and Career Resources with a job board. The association is structured as a platform-plus-programs model rather than a traditional software product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BEGIN (Bridging Educational Grant in Nursing): A partnership between WeRPN and the Ontario Government providing tuition grants to students enrolled in PSW-RPN, PSW-RN and RPN-RN programs. Eligible students can receive up to $10,000 per year.
• WeRPN Education Trust Fund (ETF)
• We Are Practical Nursing (Journal)
• Nursing Education Initiative (NEI)
• WeRPN Resilience Initiatives Program

Products and services

• WeRPN Membership Annual professional association membership for Ontario's Registered Practical Nurses, providing advocacy representation, liability insurance, education grants, member discounts, networking, and access to research and career resources.
• We Are Practical Nursing Journal Official digital magazine of WeRPN covering nursing issues, research, careers, and professional development for Ontario's RPNs, with a monthly digital audience averaging 10,000 readers.
• BEGIN Program (Bridging Educational Grant in Nursing) Tuition grant program providing up to $10,000 per year to students enrolled in PSW-RPN, PSW-RN and RPN-RN bridging programs; administered by WeRPN in partnership with the Ontario Government.
• Nursing Education Initiative (NEI) Education grant program providing reimbursement of up to $1,500 per funding year for nurses pursuing continuing education and professional development.
• Education Trust Fund (ETF) Bursary Bursary program providing $1,000 awards to practical nursing students across Ontario, funded by $1 from every WeRPN membership.
• Ambassador Program Leadership program that recruits Workplace and Student Ambassadors to share advocacy updates, professional development opportunities, and exclusive offers with colleagues and classmates across Ontario.
• Mentorship Program Career development program connecting experienced and novice nurses through an online search engine matching system, tip sheets, and mentorship relationship agreements.
• RExPN Exam Support One-on-one guidance service from the WeRPN Professional Practice department for RPNs and students preparing for the RExPN Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Examination.
• Self-Care Toolkit Online resource with modules focused on mental, emotional, physical, and social well-being to support nurses' resilience.
• Online Courses Professional development courses for RPNs including Introduction to Leadership, practice resources, and continuing education offerings, delivered through the WeRPN LMS Dashboard.
• Career Resources & Job Board Career guidance, job search resources, interview preparation, resume building, and a dedicated job board for RPNs at werpn.careerwebsite.com.
• WeRPN eLibrary Digital repository of RPN-inclusive publications, presentations, and research resources with basic and advanced search functions; 79+ RPN-inclusive literature sources including 36 peer-reviewed scholarly articles.
• WeRPN Resilience Initiatives Program Program of self-care and resilience resources including an online app and certified WeRPN Resilience Practitioners to support front-line healthcare workers at individual and team levels.
• Liability Insurance for Members Professional liability insurance for RPNs, included as a member benefit with WeRPN annual membership.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65,000 RPNs supported across Ontario
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ontario Ministry of Long-Term CarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeRPN partners with the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care on the BEGIN (Bridging Educational Grant in Nursing) program, providing tuition grants of up to $10,000 per year to students in PSW-RPN, PSW-RN and RPN-RN programs. WeRPN also advises the Ministry on retention strategies to support staffing in the sector.
• Ontario Ministry of HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-partner with the Ontario Ministry of Health on the BEGIN tuition grant program, supporting nursing education and workforce development in Ontario.
• Unity Health TorontocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership where RPN Lyra Nartia collaborates with Principal Investigator Sonya Canzian on a study examining barriers and facilitators to RPN practice in academic acute care hospitals, specifically focused on RPN re-integration into dialysis units.
• Western UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with Principal Investigator Dr. Denise Connelly on rehabilitation nursing research, including RPN Christina Khan's fellowship on building capacity in rehabilitation services in geriatric and stroke rehabilitation units.
• University of TorontocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership including Dr. Elizabeth Peter and Dr. Don Rose studying moral distress in nurses during the pandemic, and Dr. Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia studying pandemic impacts on nurse mental health in northern Ontario.
• College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeRPN provides feedback to CNO on Entry to Practice Competencies for RPNs and advocates for regulatory changes supporting internationally educated nurses.
• Canadian Nurses Association (CNA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeRPN participates in CNA's collaborative stakeholder round table discussions on intra-professional collaboration and recommends RPNs to provide subject matter expertise for CNA's gerontology certification exam.
• Ontario CollegescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWeRPN's Education Trust Fund bursaries and BEGIN program work with colleges across Ontario including Cambrian College, Canadore College, Durham College, Fanshawe College, George Brown College, Loyalist College, Mohawk College, Sheridan College, and St. Clair College.
• WeRPN Education Trust Fund PartnersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner organizations including Canadian Nurses Foundation Scholarship Program and Registered Nurses Foundation of Ontario for additional student funding opportunities.
• belairdirectminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInsurance partner offering special deals on home and auto insurance tailored for WeRPN members.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• BC Nurses' Union (BCNU): BCNU is the union and professional voice for nurses in British Columbia. It is a regional peer showing how a Canadian province organizes nursing representation and collective bargaining, contrasting with WeRPN's association-only (non-union) model in Ontario.
• Royal College of Nursing (RCN): RCN is the UK's professional association for nursing, offering advocacy, education, and member benefits comparable to WeRPN's offering for RPNs. It serves as a regional peer illustrating how nursing associations operate in a different national jurisdiction.
• Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF): ANMF is Australia's national nursing and midwifery union and professional body. It is comparable to WeRPN in its professional-association mandate for nurses but operates in a different geography with a combined union-and-association model.
• Health Sciences Association (HSA): HSA is a union representing health science professionals in British Columbia, including nurses. It is a regional peer illustrating an alternative organizing model for healthcare professionals in Canada outside Ontario.

Direct peers

• Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO): RNAO is the professional association representing registered nurses in Ontario. It is WeRPN's most direct peer, operating the same membership, advocacy, and continuing-education model in Ontario, but for RNs rather than RPNs, making it the closest functional comparison.
• College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO): CNO is the regulatory body for Ontario nurses (including RPNs). WeRPN partners with CNO on Entry to Practice Competencies, making CNO the regulator-side counterpart and the closest peer in terms of nursing-workforce policy and standards in Ontario.
• Canadian Nurses Association (CNA): CNA is the national professional association for nurses in Canada. WeRPN explicitly engages with CNA's stakeholder roundtable on intra-professional collaboration, indicating overlapping scope in advocacy, certification, and policy work for the nursing profession.

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Medical Association (CMA): CMA is the national professional association for physicians in Canada, comparable in national-level advocacy and member-service mandate to WeRPN's role for Ontario's RPNs, although operating at significantly larger scale across a different healthcare profession.
• American Nurses Association (ANA): ANA is the largest professional association for nurses in the United States. It provides advocacy, education, certification, and member benefits at a national scale, making it a broad incumbent comparable in mandate to WeRPN but operating at far greater scale and in a different jurisdiction.
• Ontario Medical Association (OMA): OMA represents Ontario physicians and engages in similar advocacy and member-services work at the provincial level. It is a broad-incumbent peer showing how a provincial healthcare professional association operates with government and provides member benefits in Ontario.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/we_rpn
• Facebookfacebook.com/wearepracticalnurses
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/registered-practical-nurses-association-of-ontario
• Instagraminstagram.com/we_rpn

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about WeRPN