June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day. United Nurses of Alberta celebrates the diverse cultural traditions of the Indigenous peoples whose land on which we live and their contributions to the field of nursing and our union.
UNA is proud to represent many nurses of Indigenous heritage in communities across Alberta, including those employed by the Aakom Kiyii Health Services of the Piikani Nation and by the Blood Tribe Department of Health in Stand Off.
For generations, many Indigenous
…
United Nurses of Alberta is proud to host the 2026 CFNU Western Canada Labour School in Calgary on June 8, 9 and 10, 2026.
This biennial education event organized by the four western member organizations of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions brings together nurses from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan to participate in education workshops and hear panel discussion about issues they face in the workplaces and broader challenges facing the health care system.
This year’s
…
United Nurses of Alberta is proud to celebrate the importance of love, courage and community during Pride Month.
Marked each June, Pride Month is an opportunity to celebrate the vibrant diversity and contributions of of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities in Canada. It is also a time to reflect on the progress made towards equality and to recognize the work that still needs to be done.
UNA continues its commitment to fight prejudice in all its forms so that 2SLGBTQIA+ people can always feel safe, valued,
…
United Nurses of Alberta celebrates National Indigenous History Month in June by honouring the contributions made by First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples to our union, the nursing profession, our province and Canada.
UNA is proud to represent many nurses of Indigenous heritage, including those employed by the Blood Tribe Department of Health in Stand Off, near Cardston, and by Aakom Kiyii Health Services of the Piikani Nation at Brocket.
We encourage UNA members to learn more about the unique
…
The Alberta Federation of Labour is organizing a series of protest rallies in communities across Alberta on May 29.
The Fight Back Now campaign, organized by the Alberta Federation of Labour, is holding rallies in Airdrie, Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Langdon, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, St. Albert, Stettler, Vermilion, and Wetaskiwin.
The Day of Protest isn't about division — it's about ending it. Every person who registers sends a signal: Albertans are paying
…
United Nurses of Alberta is proud to represent nurses in every corner of Alberta, but this week we celebrate nurses working on the frontlines of the health care system in rural and remote communities across our province.
Thank you for the work you do. Your compassion, strength and skills are what makes health care better in your communities.
Alberta Rural Health Week is marked this year from May 25 to 29, 2026.
Members of
…
After years of tireless advocacy by United Nurses of Alberta Local 33 members working in the Royal Alexandra Hospital Emergency Department, Alberta Health Services announced on May 19 that a weapons detection system has been finally installed to enhance safety for nurses, health care staff and patients.
The installation of the weapons detection system was one of three safety improvements that UNA called for in response to recent increases in violence and threats towards nurses and patients in
…
High school aptitude tests weren’t the only thing that convinced Justin Beaver to become a Registered Nurse. Beaver is a third generation nurse, following in the steps of his parents and grandmother.
“My dad was an RN for 30 years and he was always a good role model for me, hearing the differences he was able to make” said Beaver, a member of UNA Local 120.
“My mom ended up doing her LPN at the same time I was doing my RN so we were actually able to take some courses together, which was quite a
…
Meet Olga Saley, a nurse who spent more than 60 years in service to the people of Alberta.
When she reflects on her nursing career, she is quick to downplay it.
“I don’t really have anything brilliant to say,” she insists.
But her story tells something far more powerful.
Her journey into nursing began more than six decades ago, after working at a health unit in Athabasca as a steno technician.
“There wasn’t money to send me to university like my sister,” she recalls. “But the nurses there were
…
Members of United Nurses of Alberta bargaining units covered by the Provincial Collective Agreement who provide service at eligible rural or remote worksites in Alberta have until September 30 to apply for the RCIF Retention Recognition Incentive, a one-time lump-sum payment recognizing their continued commitment and dedication to providing health care in rural or remote communities.
Payment amounts – set in three tiers of $5,000, $7,500 and $10,000 – are based on each employee’s years of
…
Annjanette Ridsdale-Weddell’s association with the nursing profession started early. When the Indigenous nurse was about three years old, she recalls, she ate some rat poison on her family’s ranch in Saskatchewan! She recalls the nurse who attended to her in a white uniform with black stripes on her nursing cap. “I still remember her calm presence. They had to keep me overnight and she was on the evening shift. She just babied me.” Evidently, Ridsdale-Weddell’s positive impression of the
…
…
In this Nurses’ Week Spotlight, we feature Faith - an inspiring nursing student on her journey to becoming a future forensic nurse.
Influenced by her parents in the nursing field, she shares why she chose nursing and her passion for helping patients by asking the important question: “What happened to you?”
She also opens up about nursing burnout, the challenges of healthcare, and why she remains committed to making a difference through compassionate patient care.
Thank you to all nurses and
…
Today is the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale on May 12, 1820.
The English nurse, social reformer and pioneer statistician is widely credited with creating the modern nursing profession.
Born in Italy to a well-off English family and raised on a family estate in England, Nightingale was moved from an early age by the plight of the poor who lived nearby. At 17, she refused marriage to a gentleman “suitable” to her class.
At 24, despite her parents’ forceful objections, she
…
It’s not every day front-line nurses are asked to take part in an in-depth interview for a radio broadcast that would be heard in every part of Canada. You might even think the thought of such a thing would be nerve-wracking.
That’s certainly the way Registered Nurse Valerie Evanishen felt last January when she was asked along with her colleague Jayme Hack to appear on Dr. Brian Goldman’s CBC program, White Coat Black Art, to talk about the state of the Emergency Department at the Royal
…
…
This Nurses Week, United Nurses of Alberta celebrates the work nurses do every day in every corner of the province.
Your strength, skills, and compassion are what makes health care better in Alberta. Whether it's offering a moment of comfort or a life-saving decision, your impact is felt in every part of our health care system.
The theme of UNA’s Nurses Week celebrations this year is Our nurses, Our future / Your nurses, Your future.” While we celebrate nurses and the patient care they deliver
…
By Carolyn Olson and Richard West
UNA Pension Advisors
The Local Authorities Pension Plan, which provides retirement savings for a majority of UNA members, has three options for the purchase of pensionable coverage for time missed while on a leave of absence or when the member was eligible to participate in LAPP but for any reason didn’t enroll.
The kinds of leaves that are eligible for pension buy-backs include include unpaid sick leave, education leave, maternity leave and time on spent on
…
Submissions can be entered on UNA DMS.
United Nurses of Alberta is thrilled to announce the fourth annual Nurses Week Member Engagement Challenge.
To recognize the work of UNA Locals during Nurses Week from May 11 to May 17 this year, UNA is inviting Locals and members to submit examples of member engagement efforts created and used during that week.
The theme of this year’s challenge is Our Nurses, Our Future. Locals are encouraged to enter submissions that follow that theme.
Entries will be
…
Today is Red Dress Day, an annual event of activism and remembrance honouring the lives of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ People (MMIWG2S+).
In Canada, Indigenous women are four times more likely to be victims of violence than non-Indigenous women and the average rate of homicides involving Indigenous female victims was four times higher than those involving non-Indigenous female victims (source).
Métis visual artist Jaime Black started The REDress Project as “a
…