Silas: When nurses unite across borders, there is no end to what we can achieve.
May 12, 2025 (Ottawa, ON) – Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU), has been appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing in the United Kingdom. Silas is being honoured in recognition of her outstanding contributions to nursing with the highest award made by the RCN.
Throughout her career, Silas has been a champion for nurse solidarity across borders. Notably, Silas was a part of the team of nurses who founded Global Nurses United in 2013 to step up the fight against the harmful effects of austerity measures, privatization and cuts to health care services that put people and communities at risk around the world. Now, the action-oriented Global Nurses United represents more than two million unionized nurses in 35 countries.
Most recently, Silas co-chaired Canada’s first national Summit on Nurse-Patient Ratios, bringing together international nursing leaders for discussions on how to bring this vital tool for patient safety and nurse retention into more jurisdictions.
“I am absolutely humbled to be recognized on the international stage by my peers at the RCN, an organization that for over 100 years has put nursing and nurses at the forefront of all decisions,” Silas said. “Nurses know how critically important collaboration is, whether it’s in your unit at your workplace or across the world. This award is a symbol of nurses partnering with each other, and this is an honour to receive it.”
Silas noted the importance of solidarity amongst nurses around the world. “In the face of a global nursing crisis, nurses’ voices, care and leadership are as important as ever in our continued fight for access to health care are a human right – not a luxury,” Silas concluded.
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The Royal College of Nursing is the world’s largest nursing union and professional body, representing over half a million nursing staff and students in the UK and internationally.
The CFNU is Canada’s largest nurses’ organization, representing 250,000 frontline unionized nurses and nursing students in every sector of health care – from home care and LTC to community and acute care – and advocating on key priorities to strengthen public health care across the country.
For more information, please contact Adella Khan, media@nursesunions.ca, 613‑807‑2942.