Silas: Investing in prevention is critical to make violence-free health care workplaces a reality
April 14, 2026 (Ottawa, ON) – Nearly all nurses have experienced violence or harassment at work in the last year, reveals a new national survey of 4,703 nurses across health care settings. The survey found that 95% of nurses have experienced some form of workplace violence or harassment in the past year.
“Nurses face the threat of violence every day at work, something that absolutely would not be tolerated in any other workplace. It is no coincidence that nursing is a female-dominated profession and that violence has been allowed to grow in the workplace without the change and accountability that it demands,” said Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU).
Support for nurses’ health and safety is sorely lacking. Nearly 1 in 3 nurses say they haven’t received workplace violence and harassment training, while nearly 3 in 4 nurses haven’t received psychological health and safety training.
Silas underscored that only 46% of nurses say they have reported incidents of violence. One in three nurses say they’re fearful of repercussions for reporting work-related violence or harassment.
“Strong support after an incident of violence should be the bare minimum, but it’s not a standard being met. Nurses deserve to know that when they report a violent incident at work, their employer is ready to respond with the support and care they need,” Silas said.
“Nurses are not martyrs, they’re professionals. Nursing is a safety-critical profession, which demands staffing policies that protect patient safety and nurses themselves. It’s time we bring respect into our health care workplaces with proper safety mechanisms and safe staffing ratios that reflect the reality of nursing today.”
The CFNU is calling on provincial and territorial governments to use every tool at their disposal to end violence against health care workers, including:
“When it comes to violence, prevention is key,” Silas said. “Investing in prevention is critical to make violence-free health care workplaces a reality, and give nurses and health care professionals the safe working environments they need to provide patients with quality care.”
The Canada-wide survey of 4,703 nurses was conducted by Viewpoints Research in early 2026. More comprehensive details on the survey results can be found here.
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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.