TORONTO, ON, April 16, 2026 – Today, members of the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) staged a protest at Extendicare’s Annual Shareholders Meeting in Toronto to demand the nursing homes chain put better resident care before increased profit. At this meeting, shareholders voted to elect new board members and appoint a new board chair who has a background in private equity and real estate, not front-line care. This makes nurses and health-care professionals question the priorities of Extendicare’s board – resident care or more profits.
ONA members at nursing homes across Ontario will begin bargaining a new collective agreement next week. As one of the largest nursing homes chains in the country, they want the new Extendicare board to show workers respect by negotiating an agreement with fair wages, benefits and working conditions.
“These nurses and health-care professionals provide round-the-clock care to some of the most vulnerable members of our society and yet they are paid more than 10 per cent less than hospital nurses who provide similar care,” explains ONA Provincial President Erin Ariss, RN. “It’s time these for-profit nursing homes showed their staff some respect for the high-quality care they provide patients.”
In 2025, Extendicare reported a record $96 million in profits, up 28 per cent from the previous year. Their Chief Executive Officer Michael Guerriere’s total compensation for the same year was a whopping $2.6 million dollars. Nurses and health-care professionals say the money and respect does not trickle down to them. Instead, they work hard to provide the best quality care to residents while being understaffed and under resourced. The wage disparity between long-term care and hospitals coupled with poor working conditions forces many workers to leave the jobs they love for better pay and benefits.
Ariss says, “These for-profit homes also receive public taxpayer money to operate. Our residents, families and all Ontarians deserve greater accountability for that money is going. Instead of lining the pockets of shareholders and hoping they make good decisions for residents and workers, we need accountability that ensures money is spent on better resident care over profit.”
Nursing homes like Extendicare can ensure residents get the high-quality care they need and deserve by negotiating a respectful new collective agreement with wages and benefits equal to hospital nurses, minimum staffing ratios and better working conditions.
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.
-30-
