President’s Message: Time to stand together

It’s been a year – hasn't it?

We are less than six weeks into 2025, and we’ve already seen a great deal of turmoil, with the resignation of Prime Minister Trudeau as leader of the Liberal party, the subsequent prorogation of Parliament, a snap provincial election call by Premier Ford, and the looming threat of a trade war with a President-Trump-led United States.

Though it may feel overwhelming at times, it’s also an opportunity for us to regroup, as not only public servants, but as citizens of Ontario and Canada.

We must regroup—and we must stand together for what we believe in and what we value.

That means taking a stand for the Ontario we want to see. The last provincial election saw the lowest voter turnout in Ontario history. This level of turnout simply cannot repeat itself—there’s just too much at stake to sit this election out. By exercising the power of your vote, you can help shape what the future of this province will look like.

And so, we urge all our members to vote on February 27. We encourage you to consider which party, which leader, and which candidate you think will best protect Ontario’s public services—and deal fairly with the hard-working public servants like yourself who deliver them.

We will also urge you to have your voice heard by voting this spring when a federal election is called. The government we elect will not only have to face down the Trump government but also determine the future of federal public services and the outcome of thousands of jobs held by our colleagues who provide those services.

Beyond elections, we are now also called upon to stand with our fellow Canadians in the face of harsh economic threats from our southern neighbour and long-time ally that will put many Ontarians’ and Canadians’ livelihoods at risk.

We can all take a stand against those who would see our economy weakened by investing in Canada—buying Canadian-grown produce and items made in Canada, and by spending our hard-earned disposable income on entertainment and travel plans within our national borders. We must invest in ourselves. We must protect good jobs.

All these factors—the provincial and federal elections, and the ongoing impact of tariffs—will come to bear on our own collective bargaining negotiations throughout 2025. Damaging tariffs aside, our members are already dealing with a cost of living that hasn’t stopped rising post-inflation. The hard-fought gains made during the Bill 124 era need to continue into our next round of bargaining.  

Though we find ourselves in the eye of a storm, I’m confident we can weather it by standing strong. Why, because we are stronger than those who threaten or discount us would like to think. As union members, as public servants, as Ontarians, and as Canadians, we are strongest when we take a stand together for what matters most to us. That time has come.

Stronger together,