COPE Ontario

WHO IS COPE ONTARIO?

We are a membership-driven organization representing workers in various public and private sectors such as Health Care, Education, Financial Services, Labour Organizations, Non-Profit and Government agencies. With 20 locals and approximately 7,000 members across the province, we are a diverse and wide reaching union. We are affiliated to the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) giving us strength in millions, allowing our members to have a voice in all issues affecting working people. It is also the purpose and aim of the Council to inform, advise and educate workers in the principles and policies of this Union and of the benefits and gains which they may achieve through organizing and collective bargaining.

Join us — Together we can make a difference!

Young Workers

Welcome to the Young Workers section of COPE Ontario!

This is your one-stop shop for anything and everything related to our union’s Young Workers, including the Committee!

Please click on the "The Young Workers Committee" tab to find resources to help acquaint you with our committee, and information on how you can get involved.

The Committee’s most recent success was the planning and execution of the first ever COYS (COPE Ontario Young Workers Symposium) on March 21st, 2025. COYS gave our Young Worker delegates across the province an opportunity to be motivated and uplifted by speaker Luckystickz gain valuable organizing skills from the Canadian Labour Congress, and an understanding of how COPE is structured as well as how they can get involved, presented by Siraz Kaur Chatha (COPE’s Young Workers Vice President and Committee Chair).

Updates

National Day of Mourning

Today, April 28, is the National Day of Mourning, when we remember all workers who were killed at work and who have suffered injuries at work.

This special day is observed around the world, sending a message about the importance of strong health and safety laws and workplace inspections.

Today, we mourn the dead, and commit to making every workplace a safe workplace.

New TTC cars — keep it Canadian!

COPE Ontario joins the calls for Toronto mayor Olivia Chow to buy Canadian for the TTC.

Subway cars on TTC Line 2 are near the end of life, and replacements are urgently needed.

COPE members at Alstom in Thunder Bay are ready to build the 55 new cars needed for the Bloor-Danforth line.

No one has more experience than workers in Thunder Bay, who built the existing Line 1 and 2 cars (not the mention, the new streetcars).

This would be a win-win — for the economy of Thunder Bay, and the TTC riders who deserve to travel on reliable subway cars.

We're counting on you, Olivia!

2025 Election

Vote for a pro-worker Canada

Every time we go to the polls, we remark on how important an election is and that we should all do our duty as citizens to cast our ballot.

We need no convincing about the importance of the federal election taking place on April 28.

With the rise of Donald Trump and the far right in the country with whom we share the continent, our very future as Canadians is at stake. Who we choose as Prime Minister and government is of monumental importance.

According to the polls, Mark Carney and the Liberals will form a majority government.

But let us pause for a moment and consider the fate of the NDP and why it’s important to have a strong social democratic presence in the next Parliament.

Thanks to pressure from the NDP, the outgoing Liberal government brought in dental care and pharmacare, and amended the Canada Labour Code to ban employers from hiring replacement workers during a strike.

One of the first acts of Prime Minister Mark Carney, a former banker, was to abolish the Department of Labour and scale back diversity and inclusion programs.

The continuing importance of the NDP is all too clear.

Take that consideration with you to the ballot box on April 28.