Over 3,000 care workers across Nova Scotia are on the picket line because the province has left them behind. After working for years without a contract and months without real bargaining, workers are demanding wages that match the real work they do every day.
The system relies on their labour, and the government is failing them and those they care for.
3,000+ Workers Pushed to the Brink: Frontline staff from 30 homes are already on the picket line, fighting for basic survival. Many make barely above minimum wage, which is well below the provincial living wage of $24 to $29 an hour.
Care Homes Disrupted: Vulnerable residents and families are caught in the crossfire of the government's refusal to negotiate.
A Simple Demand: Workers are asking for an offer that brings them closer to the living wage and helps address the retention crisis.
This strike is about the future of Nova Scotia's long term care. Care workers look after our most vulnerable, yet the Houston government offers poverty wages and ignores real discussion. Nova Scotia's long term care workers are the lowest paid in Atlantic Canada, second lowest in the country. They are forced to strike because a full-time job in health care isn't enough for a decent life; some are living in their cars; some are choosing between food and rent.
They need respect, decent wages, and a serious offer from the government, not more spin.
Our care workers deserve better than a government that ignores them.
Tell Premier Tim Houston and Minister Barbara Adams to make a decent offer. Demand real solutions: raise wages, improve retention, and treat care workers with the dignity they have earned.
To support the 3,000+ long term care workers in Nova Scotia who have been forced onto the picket line. Every message tells Premier Tim Houston and Minister Barbara Adams that Nova Scotians demand a fair contract and a living wage for the workers who care for our most vulnerable.
No. The government is selling a recycled offer that falls short of what workers need to survive. Their percentage-based offer leaves the lowest-paid members making well below Nova Scotia's estimated living wage of $24 to $29 an hour. A raise that strives to meet the living wage for all classifications is the only way to make sure these workers are not living in poverty.
Yes. There is a massive retention crisis in long term care. Members can leave for acute care and immediately make at least $4 or more an hour. When wages stay low, experienced staff leave for other sectors or cross the border. This leads to severe shortages in long term care that put both workers and residents at risk. Staffing shortages leave remaining workers exhausted and doing the work of multiple people.
Yes. Under the Essential Health and Community Services Act, workers continue to provide essential care, including meals, dressing, personal care, and medications, to keep residents safe and healthy. These workers are dedicated to their jobs and the residents they care for, but that does not make up for the government chronically underpaying them.
The provincial government. The union has repeatedly stated they are ready to bargain, but the government continues to offer the exact deal they put on the table in 2023 on a take it or leave it basis. Passing the exact same offer back and forth without discussion is an ultimatum, not bargaining.
Send a direct message immediately. We need to show clear and overwhelming support for workers and direct opposition to the government’s complacency before the senior care system breaks down further.
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Why I'm Supporting...
elaine m
bedford, NS
As a recently retired RN who solely worked in longterm care, I personally know the work and care that is provided by each of these workers. By prolonging this strike, the lives of residents will be shortened. Older people do not have the same ability to “ bounce back”. Care is not being adequately provided during strike action. The staff are not to blame as their conditions are exhausting and their pay is not adequate compared to the work that they perform. The people holding back proper pay need to spend a week in a longterm care bed without the help of the regular, competent staff. I don’t think they would put themselves nor their loved ones in that situation. Barbara Adams claims to have worked with seniors as a physiotherapist. If this is the case, how can she side so strongly against the people who work with longterm care residents on a daily basis? There seems to be a complete lack of empathy. Proper compensation allows all of our society to be strong participants in our communities. This government has quickly become an embarrassment.
wilma f
inverness, NS
I have worked in LTC for 51 years and I have witnessed first hand the lack of decent wages , respect and fairness given to those workers. All disciplines should be given the same % of a raise across the board . No one group can function very long with out the other .They are a team and that is what makes them function and enable them to do their jobs. The most important piece of all this are the residents .They become family to the staff . They go out of their eay for them. I seen it day after day . They buy food for residents that cannot be provided through purchasing . They do not look for reimbursement from the facility. This is a common practice. They buy gifts for residents at Christmas and I could write a book on all the extras being done with no expectation of thanks or payment..You as a government do not know the great employees you have in these facilities and obvious do not care . You need to wake up Everything is given to acute care which is needed but Long term care should not be recognized as the poor cousins which in my time there were referred to as . Please respect them and be thankful you have them and show it by giving them a decent livable wage
geraldine l
My mom was 98. She died February 6th 2026. She wanted to pass away at home because having volunteered at Le Foyer Père Fiset, she knew first hand there is a shortage of staff, both at the hospital and Le Foyer. These are caregivers, like I was here at home. I did not get a red cent for looking after my mom. If you can't staff those 2 places now, how are you going to staff the new place in behind the hospital? Listen to your workers Mr. Houston, someday you will need to be cared for, not for $21/ hour. Seriously, do you feel that families and volunteers should care for the elderly that have cared for us our whole lives? I don't know about you, but being here looking after my mom was the most difficult job I ever had. I had No time off, no vacations, no eating out in restaurants, basically I lived my mother's life. She supported you because she was fond of Allan MacMaster. Well....we are going to have to figure out where to find money to pay all the staff for the new hospital / nursing care home. I'll be like maman, I hope I never have to move there because there isn't enough staff to look after what they have now. You need to respect our workers and pay them what they are worth. Elbows UP!
judith d
dartmouth, NS
I am supporting because, our elders deserve to have quality care. CCA’s cannot provide this with staff shortages. Which is caused by poor pay and conditions. CCA’s have been slapped, punched, and kicked, yet they continue in a professional caring manner. CCA’s are over worked and tired. It is written that our elders are to get four hours of interaction including personal care, this is not true, how can they when they cannot get people to come into work or stay in the field. I understand that a lot of immigration once they get their PR’s are heading back west (better pay). We need to keep these people here. Please, get back to the table and realize one day you or a loved one is going to need their services and don’t you want to know that your stay will be the best it can be with the proper staffing. Happy, long time employees. It does make a difference in an elders life just to be able to talk, walk, and play with the staff but the CCA’s need more money to make this field of work attractive. They are not asking a lot considering a person needs to make over thirty dollars an hour just to make ends meet. They want better pay which will help entice new workers and hopefully keep some of our immigrants in the province.
donna r
anderson mountain, NS
I am signing this petition to support employees who are currently on strike. While I do not work in senior care, I work in a similar field supporting individuals with different abilities, and I see every day how important and demanding this work is. The level of care and responsibility is high, yet wages are not consistent across sectors. In some settings, people doing very similar work are paid significantly more. This wage gap matters. It affects staff retention and the consistency of support for vulnerable individuals. Fair, consistent pay across sectors is important. It values the work being done and helps ensure people receive stable, quality support. For these reasons, I support this petition for fair wages.
cayhy f
baddeck, NS
I am a CCA working short, waiting for the government to appreciate the job I do. Why are we the lowest paid in Atlantic Canada. This should.be embarrassing to our government. I see coworkers scare exhausted and frustrated. How can that translate to quality care for our beautiful residents.
anne f
mahone bay, NS
These are essential workers who perform tasks that keep people healthy, safe and alive. They do not get the respect and recognition they deserve. They are extra eyes on vulnerable people, keeping them out of hospital. They may be invisible to many but that is not a reflection on their importance. May we show how we care by respecting the work of those who care for vulnerable people.
Tell the Premier: End this strike
Long term care workers should not have to strike to earn a living wage.
Sign the Petitionhaylee d
inverness, NS
I have been been in and out of this healthcare field for seven years, due to inability to live without being in dept while paying for my basic needs. I love my career as a CCA, it is hard a lot of days but my passion for compassionate care and dedication to the enrichment of their lives means so much to me. It’s hard to do my best job some days knowing bills are piled up and having to work overtime to make ends meet along side being a mother in need of childcare. It’s a struggle. It’s more than just myself and co-worker’s suffering for this, but my family and client relationships. We need a living wage. We do all we can to enrich the lives of our persons in care but no one is looking out for us, the enrichment of our children while their parents work another underpaid over time shift…. Please Mr, Tim Huston this is my plea! The ripple effect of this neglect has great magnitude! WE ALL DESERVE BETTER, WE ALL!!
lorena l
arichat, NS
They need a living wage. This will improve the system. More worker retention, more attractive incentive for future staff.
jane h
back centre, NS
I’m supporting as a retired PCW,I know first hand the hard work and dedication this job demands.I worked in this field for 43 yrs.The people definetly deserve a higher wage.My Mother is now in LTC and so I see it from a different respective.It is not a job that comes lightly,it is demanding both Physically and mentally.My Mother who also worked in L T C and these workers deserve better.These workers are not in it for solely the money they love their jobs and the people they care for.They look after our most vulnerable population and are the lowest paid in Atlantic Canada,second lowest in the country,change it ,do the right thing.
lynne m
dartmouth, NS
I work in a non-unionized LTC home within the HRM as a CCA and know all too well first hand the long back breaking hours of love and care we bring for our residents every day, and trust me when I say, we as CCA's couldn't do it without our whole team, from Nursing, Recreation to Dietary and House keeping, we all need each other! LTC is not the same as it was when I first began my career in healthcare 16 years ago, yet I love my career, my co-workers and most of all my residents who I have spent more time with then my own family. Having said that, in today's economy and working 84 hrs bi weekly, sometimes more, bringing home $1200 every 2 weeks just isn't sustainable. It's no wonder so many are leaving the sector and not being retained in the sector. Premier Houston and Barbara Adams need to do better for our province!
carna g
granville ferry, NS
I have worked in the Care Industry 26 years and have never been so disgusted, exhausted, disrespected, upset and I could say much more. I’ve been injured at work and left for dead by a bad employer who cares not about the generally accepted principles and practices of the healthcare field in this province. Care workers are abused (by clients and sometimes their co workers and superiors) who care only about their shifts being covered… at a time when staffing shortages have never been so prevalent in this province. 80 percent leave due to burn out and or injury… some of which could wind up with a lifelong impairment. On the whole, support staff are paid wayyyy below the actual living wage. They try to work more hours or multiple jobs (as I have) to survive. Many times have not been paid the overtime rate as per the labour code standards, as well… we are expected to “chip in” for the good of the team and the people we look after. Well, no more. Count me in as one more who will leave this industry for good this year. A lot of talk happens, but the powers that be, are just not getting it. We deal with people’s lives daily.. someday you might need care also, and your money won’t matter. The staff is just not there. No wonder. It’s the worst industry to work in… no respect, working for free at times because well “we care?”. Do you care? You will when your mother, father, spouse or child needs good care and can’t get it. Then these officials will be outraged and upset. Which they should be now. Thank you.
patricia s
back centre, NS
I am awaiting a bed for my husband in long term care, he has Alzheimers & vascular dementia. I have had to hire a healthcare worker to help me, & you need to pay $30 an hour to find someone, but I support this wage. I know the value of healthcare care , I am a retired nurse with 48 years of working in the healthcare system! These workers are so needed, they are a valuable & critical part of healthcare. If we don’t sustain these workers in the long term care facilities, our whole system backs up! hospitals are then forced to admit long term care patients into acute care beds. This has been a systematic & long time problem in our healthcare system. Tim Houston, please , for heavens sake ,see the light!
stephanie b
lower sackville, NS
I am a CCA who worked for 10 years in long term. It isn't an easy job. Our care and effort isn't often recognized by others unless they have had loved ones in LTC. We work in all sorts of conditions in all kinds of environments. We often feel unsupported and overworked. Not being paid a liveable wage is insulting.
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Our care workers deserve better than a government that ignores them. Take action now.
Sign up nowcarolyn b
kentville, NS
I'm supporting because I see first hand how hard these caregivers work. My father is in a nursing home. There is usually a ratio of two staff to every 18 residents and they are all classified the same way. Clients are all considered level two whether they have extremely high physical, emotional or mental needs or are more independent. How are two staff supposed to effectively care for, feed , bathe and distribute medication with those kind of numbers? And with such low pay, why would they want that kind of job? These amazing workers/caregivers need to make a decent wage which keeps up with the cost of living. While some workers are being offered the higher end of the raise (24%), the majority will only get 12%. Anyone who has a loved one in a senior's home knows the importance to family that their loved one is being well taken care of. Not only do staff need a higher increase in wages, additional staff are needed on each unit, in each building to maintain a higher quality of care and living for our seniors. Please don't undervalue our Frontline workers.
wanda h
beaver bank, NS
My mom was in a nursing home for 4 years in halifax ns and I have seen on a daily basis what these workers endured every single day. They deserve to be making a decent wage. My mom passed February 16 2026. I have seen these workers worked off their feet to take care of our loved ones. Do better and give these workers what they deserve.
jennifer l
hebron, NS
Im a nurse. And before I became a nurse, I began as a CCA. This is not an easy job. It's hard, taxing work. Its physically and mentally exhausting. It can also be dangerous. As a nurse in LTC, our facility would not survive without CCAs, housekeeping, food service. These people are ESSENTIAL to these facilities. Without recreation, our residents would suffer mentally. I see that Tim Houston, I see you have had a wonderful pay increase.... something like 22%? You make over 200k a year. These people you are torturing, are lucky to see 50k a year. Make this right.
barbara m
halifax, NS
Long term care workers are feeling ignored, under-valid, unappreciated and over worked. They are asking for fair living wages for all the care, compassion, hard work and dedication they put into caring for, supporting and keeping our NS seniors safe. This is not an easy job: they are often working with staff storages, long shifts, unpredictable/unsafe condition due to the unpredictability of Dementia patients state of mind. The senior population is increasing in size year over year in NS. With LTC facilities being under staffed, employee’s working long shifts, receiving low wages and often working in stressful conditions employee retention will becoming more difficult to manage. Plus enticing future generations of Nova Scotians to want to join the LTC work force will be even more difficult than it is now. It’s time for our government to step forward to do the right thing. To make the needed and well deserved wage increases now. We all know too well that past planning for Nova Scotians health care (which includes properly funding and supporting our seniors) was neglected, way under estimated and poorly planned. Change is crucial in order to correct this situation before it’s too late. We all want the same thing. For our current senior population, future seniors (which would include our parents, grandparents, spouses, family, friends and ourselves.) to live out there last years/days receive the person center care and compassion they deserve.
eileen b
inverness, NS
I am supporting any wage increase for caregivers as I have been a mom caregiver to a quadriplegic for approximately twenty-six years (quadriplegic from diving accident) and two brothers with ALS (became quadriplegic.) I would love to have a voice in support of all caregivers. I resigned from a corporate job to care for my son as a primary caregiver in a 24/7 capacity, with caregivers coming in for a few hours to begin his day, and to assist with bedtucks.....a weekend for me was forty-eight hours straight with no help. With the help of caregiving staff, arriving with love, laughter, exceptional bedside nursing and beyond while driving in snowstorms with, yet, their own families waiting at home for their safe return, I was taught so much that I felt safe when they left and all of my son's needs were met Support by caregivers requires an abundance of love, understanding, compassion, patience, courage, determination and resilience. I have seen it all and felt safe in the services they provided as they become a part of your family. We were fortunate to have the resources to maintain the best, and beyond, level of care for my son for twenty-six years. His zest for life and the amazing people who came each day made a difference in his quality of life. No amount of money would be too great for the services rendered. Sit in a wheelchair for a day and try to navigate on your own. Go into a hospital bed for 24 hours with someone providing your every need for the day. From my experience in working in a political, corporate office and replacing it with a neuro unit, I quickly realized that I had to study hard, ask many questions and begin to advocate as a mom. No amount of money is too great to replace what caregivers brought to our home. Love and respect of their clients would be at the top of the list, or they would have chosen a different career path. A caregiver role requires mental, physical and emotional strength for the client and, at times, for the family members as illness progresses. Each one of us face that fear. Presently, you may be able-bodied; tomorrow, you may not. We all think about that and try to prepare. When it happens, one could never have prepared for what is necessary..... courage, determination, resilience, patience, understanding, unconditional love and commitment provided by caregivers removing all fear of being alone with a family member.
allan & sharon m
bridgewater, NS
Im sure you have received thousands of emails concerning the importance of these workers in the lives of these people in Long Care Homes ect. My father has not been able to have a tub bath since the strike happened only hand baths. Whos fault is that? I blame YOU AND TIM ! These people take care of my Dad every day 24 hours a day 7 days a week my Dad is blind needs full time care can get to the bathroom on his on has very many health issues, is now in his room constantly because there is no recreation, he has severe anxiety, depression . Thank you for making it now at HIGHER LEVELS! THANK YOU , for allowing him not to be able to get the extra help with managing his meals and him trying to manage to find it on the plate thank you for him trying to get out of the bathroom on his own at the risk of falling and breaking a hip because of being blind and not seeing where he's going . All because Tim and yourself think these workers DONT DESERVE to be paid a proper wage. Here's the kicker......I did what they do for over 20 years. I know how difficult this job can be, what its like to be mandated to work double shifts, to work short handed, to have a work load that beyond a single persons capability. To have to hold your pee so you can take a resident to the bathroom or they need to be feed or they are lonely and need comfort. Can you say the same? I doubt it......Heartless is what I call you both. How would you feel if it was your Mom or Dad going through this.? Time to get off of your high horses and pay these workers the worth not scraps. God knows you government workers get your high share while we all barely can get by. Sharon Miller