Our History

        The Alberta Union of Nurse Practitioners (AUNP) was formed through decades of evolving legislation, advocacy, and determination by Nurse Practitioners to secure fair representation and recognition. From the early days of undefined bargaining units to the establishment of a distinct union created “by NPs, for NPs,” this journey reflects both the challenges and the resilience of the profession. What follows is a timeline of key milestones that shaped the path to AUNP’s creation and continued growth.

1977 - 1996

A Long Time Ago...​

For many years there was no legislation or regulation defining appropriate bargaining units in health care. 

1977

Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) created 4 functional bargaining units for hospitals and nursing homes: general support, auxiliary nursing, direct nursing and paramedical. 

1994

Government of Alberta regionalized healthcare, establishing 17 Regional Health Authorities (RHAs) throughout the province.

1996

Alberta is the first Province to legislate Nurse Practitioners (NPs) to practice. 

2003-2009

More Recently

2003 

NPs became protected under the Health Professions Act (HPA). Prior to this, aspects of the NP skill set were encompassed under the designation of “RN extended class.”  NPs were then reclassified and excluded from the Alberta Labour Relations Code, through Bill 27, effectively preventing unionization. The rationale given was that “… given the independent clinical decision-making type of role that nurse practitioners have that their role is much more like that of a physician than that of a nurse…” (Gary Mar, Minister of Health and Wellness, June 2, 2000 – November 25, 2004) (Hansard)

  • This reclassification also removed NPs from the Regional Health Authority Collective Bargaining Regulation (RHACBR), meaning they were no longer automatically included in collective bargaining with other health professionals.

2004

The Nurse Practitioner Association of Alberta (NPAA) is created to increase public and government awareness of and support for the NP role and practice.

2009 

Alberta Health Services (AHS) is created as a Province-Wide Regional Health Authority.  

2018-2024

Recently

2018 

Two AHS NPs petitioned the ALRB, arguing that their constitutional right to professional self-advocacy was being violated by the exclusion of NPs from both the Labour Code and RHACBR. The United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) supported the NPs’ claim as UNA had represented extended-class RNs prior to the HPA’s recognition of the NP title and the subsequent removal of NPs from the Labour Code. UNA applied to the ALRB, asserting that preventing NPs from unionizing was unconstitutional, and requesting that NPs be placed within the UNA bargaining unit. The NPAA petitioned to be a participant in the proceedings.

2019 

The ALRB agreed that the exclusion was unconstitutional, but rather than placing NPs in the UNA bargaining unit, the ALRB gave the Government of Alberta one year to create a mechanism for NP representation.

2020 

The Ministry of Labour spent 2020 working to address this issue. During this time, the NPAA aggressively lobbied for a broad, independent mechanism for NP representation that would extend across employer lines.

  • The Ministry subsequently tabled legislation to amend the RHACBR to include NPs within a fifth, distinct bargaining unit at regional health authorities.
  • This inclusion required the selection of a bargaining agent for NPs, which would apply only to NPs classified as employees. In discussions with the Labour Ministry, the NPAA was advised that if they wished to represent NPs, they would need either to establish a trade union or align with an existing union.
  • The NPAA chose to establish its own union – By NPs For NPs – to pursue self-representation. The Alberta Union of Nurse Practitioners (AUNP) was registered as a trade Union and held its Founders meeting on February 24, 2021.

2021 

The LRB amended its policy to confirm that the 5th (NP) functional bargaining unit was also applicable at Covenant Health and at nursing homes.

  • Additional work was undertaken to gather support for two new certification applications. These applications were submitted in the fall and a final report on the certification votes for both AHS and Covenant Health was received on December 21, 2021.

2022 

Following certification, the AUNP Board of Directors began canvassing members for bargaining priorities. These priorities formed the basis of AUNP’s initial collective bargaining agreement (CBA) proposal. Bargaining commenced and continued until an impasse was reached in late 2022. 

  • The Parties agreed to proceed with Voluntary Mediation in December. Both Parties also agreed to abide by the Mediator’s recommendations on outstanding Articles that had not been resolved during regular bargaining. 

2023 

The mediated settlement was presented to AUNP’s members, who overwhelmingly ratified their first CBA on October 12th, 2023. 

  • The CBA was negotiated for asingle year ending on March 31, 2024. This shorter duration was preferred by the Employers’ labour relations team, aligning  AUNP’s CBA expiry date with those of the other major health unions.

2024 – 2025

The first Annual General Meeting of AUNP was held. 

  • Bargaining began for AUNP’s second CBA. 

The Government of Alberta moved to create four Public Health Agencies from the previously singular agency of AHS. Acute Care Alberta (ACA), Primary Care Alberta (PCA), Assisted Living Alberta (ALA), and Recovery Alberta (RA) are established.  AUNP members who transitioned into these distinct Employer Agencies were kept whole with regards to their employee status and continue to be represented by AUNP under the conditions of the CBA.