After eight-week strike, long-term care workers in Nova Scotia vote on tentative deal

A Canadian Union of Public Employees flag is raised during an education support workers rally outside of the Saskatchewan legislature in Regina, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu

HALIFAX — Unionized long-term care workers in Nova Scotia were expected Monday to begin voting on a tentative contract that could bring an end to a labour dispute now in its eighth week.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees confirmed the tentative deal for 3,600 workers at 36 facilities was reached Sunday and picket lines across the province were stood down.

If the lead bargaining unit, which represents workers at St. Vincent’s Nursing Home in Halifax, votes to approve the proposed deal, it will then be presented to members across the province for a vote.

Pushing for higher wages, better benefits

The union issued a statement Sunday saying its negotiators have unanimously recommended the workers should endorse the deal.

The employees’ collective agreements expired in October 2023. The union was pushing for higher wages, better benefits and other improvements.

At one point, a union official said the main goal was to get every member closer to a living wage, which refers to the rate of pay needed to cover basic living expenses.

The union said details of the agreement would not be made public until its members have voted on the deal.

Who walked off the job?

Among those who walked off the job April 13 were nurses, continuing-care assistants and housekeeping staff. Essential services, however, were maintained throughout the strike, as required by legislation. But many physiotherapists, occupational therapists and recreational therapists worked reduced hours.

Last week, the union held a news conference at a long-term-care facility in the Halifax-area community of Eastern Passage, where residents and their family members complained about deteriorating conditions and poor wages.

One relative said there were too few support staff to bring dementia patients to recreational events such as concerts.

During the strike, residents said they had less access to care and activities, and the quality of food had declined. As well, the union complained that the government had presented the same contract proposal six times during negotiations.

Meanwhile, the Department of Seniors and Long-term Care issued a statement on June 2 saying it was committed to fair collective bargaining and its latest offer would address the concerns of the union’s lowest-paid members.

On May 25, hundreds of strikers picketed in downtown Halifax, steps away from where Premier Tim Houston was to deliver his state of the province address at the Halifax Convention Centre.

“We did listen carefully over the first few weeks of the labour action,” he said at the time. “There was a lot of concern about the lower-paid job classifications, so we tried to acknowledge that.”

By Michael MacDonald

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2026.