Lana Payne vowed to continue fighting for workers everywhere in Canada after she won the election for the National President seat by a landslide today at Unifor’s Constitutional Convention in Vancouver.
“I’ve said already that it’s been an honour and a great privilege to be your national president. My honour today has grown three-fold,” Payne said in her acceptance speech.
“We have workers to defend, jobs to protect and a country and economy to get on track. And this country needs us. Canada needs this union. It needs the progressive force that we are.”
VANCOUVER—Lana Payne vowed to continue fighting for workers everywhere in Canada after she won the election for the National President seat by a landslide today at Unifor’s Constitutional Convention in Vancouver.
“It’s been an honour and a great privilege to be your National President. My honour today has grown three-fold,” Payne said in her acceptance speech.
“We have workers to defend, jobs to protect and a country and economy to get on track. And this country needs us. Canada needs this union. It needs the progressive force that we are.”
VANCOUVER—Unifor will rally tomorrow as more than a thousand attendees at the union’s Constitution Convention unite to ‘Protect Canadian Jobs.’
The union is committed to fighting back against the damaging effects of Trump’s trade war— including unjust tariffs on Canada’s steel, aluminium, softwood lumber and auto sectors.
“This is a rally cry for every Canadian worker. Let us be clear: No deal is better than a bad deal when it comes to tariffs,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
Join us as we stand together to protect Canadian jobs!
Unifor is proud to announce that Tanya Talaga, Indigenous journalist, author, and Unifor member, has been awarded the 2025 Neil Reimer Award for her impactful stories of Indigenous experiences in Canada.
“As a media union committed to truth and reconciliation, and solidarity with Indigenous communities across Canada, we are thrilled for the opportunity to acknowledge Tanya’s incredible work, and the ongoing importance of journalism and storytelling in promoting social justice,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
Unifor regional directors took the stage second day of Unifor’s 2025 Constitutional Convention in Vancouver to deliver their reports, sharing victories and struggles over the past three years.
Daniel Cloutier, who was recently elected Unifor Quebec Director for a second term, thanked the union’s leadership, staff and members for entrusting him for continuing to lead and carrying Unifor’s future vision from Quebec to every region.
VANCOUVER—Unifor awarded its highest honour, the Nelson Mandela Award, to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) in recognition of media workers’ dangerous and unrelenting coverage of the conflict in Gaza.
“We are proud to award the PJS for the incredible work to do and sacrifices they make to tell the world the truth about what is happening in Gaza,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
Unifor National President Lana Payne has a strong message for the Canadian government when it comes to giving into U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war demands — you’ll have to go through Unifor first.
Payne didn’t mince words in her speech on Aug. 25 —the first day of the union’s fifth Constitutional Convention at the Vancouver Convention Centre — and emphasized that pushback from the union and its members is the path forward to protecting Canadian jobs.
BRADFORD, Ont.—After a seven-week strike, Unifor and Toromont Industries in Bradford, Ont. have reached an agreement to end the strike and submit the outstanding wage issue to interest arbitration for final determination.
“Donald Trump’s attacks on Canada’s auto, steel, aluminum and forestry sectors are hitting workers in real time,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “Walking back counter-tariffs is not an olive branch—it’s an open invitation for more U.S. aggression. It sends the wrong signal at the worst possible moment.”
From the outset of this trade war, Unifor has been clear: Canada’s leverage must be used to defend Canadian jobs—not bargained away without reciprocity.
WINDSOR— Titan Tool & Die has escalated its lockout of 25 workers by hauling the last remaining raw materials out of its Windsor plant. Union representatives witnessed the removal today and believe the materials are being moved to the United States.
BRADFORD, Ont.—Unifor Local 112 members at Toromont Industries in Bradford, Ont. rejected an Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) directed vote that was forced by the company, by 87%.
“This employer needs to understand that you can’t force our members into a corner instead of addressing the issues and bargaining an agreement,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
It’s still hot and sunny outside, but workers at the Windsor Salt mine in Pugwash, Nova Scotia think about road salt all year round. Unifor Atlantic Regional Director Jennifer Murray got to experience the deeps with Local 823, travelling 830 feet down the main shaft to stand in the expansive rooms and roads, called drifts, inside the mine.
Canadian auto workers are banding together and strategizing as sweeping tariffs from the United States on Canadian vehicles, parts, and raw materials threaten tens of thousands of jobs and billions in manufacturing investment.
In an Aug. 15 national webinar on auto tariffs, Unifor President Lana Payne told auto sector members that the union’s position is clear: If you sell in Canada, you must build in Canada.
“We have been clear that a bad deal, that legitimizes tariffs with the United States is worse than no deal at all right now,” said Payne.
TORONTO— Unifor strongly condemns the federal government’s imposition of binding arbitration between Air Canada and CUPE Flight Attendants, cutting short a legal strike action just hours after it began.
THUNDER BAY, ONT.—Unifor is very pleased to see that all three levels of government have confirmed that Toronto Transit Commission subway trains will be manufactured at the Alstom plant in Thunder Bay, securing jobs for workers represented by Unifor Local 1075.
MCCLEAN LAKE, SK—Wage increases, a Skilled Trades adjustment, and benefits improvements are highlights of a new collective agreement ratified August 13, 2025 by members of Unifor Local 48-S at the Orano uranium mine.
“Unifor members make the Orano mine safe and productive. The collective agreement reflects their value to the Canadian mining and energy sectors,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
Unifor is reiterating its position that bold action is needed from the Government of Canada in order to build a resilient economy in its submission to the finance committee’s consultation process in advance of the Fall 2025 Federal Budget.
TORONTO—The provincial government’s move to increase Ontario-made content in biodiesel could rejuvenate the domestic industry and secure Canadian jobs, says Unifor.
“Ontario’s and Canada’s energy security must be a top priority,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “As with regulating the biodiesel market, there are many solutions at hand to strengthen the industry and create good jobs.”
Unifor National President Lana Payne and Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi toured Pelee Island Winery, represented by Unifor Local 200, meeting with members and seeing first-hand the skill and dedication they bring to Canada’s oldest and largest winery.
WINDSOR—The ongoing dispute at Titan Tool & Die continues to escalate after the company locked out approximately 25 Unifor Local 195 members on Monday August 11, 2025, following the company’s demands for sweeping concessions and emptying the plant of tools, equipment and work. Locked out workers have between 30 and 40 years of service and an average age of 59 years.
Wesley Lesosky President, Air Canada Component of CUPE
Brother Lesosky,
Re: Unifor in Solidarity with Air Canada Component of CUPE
On behalf of Unifor’s 320,000 members across Canada, including our 17,000 members working in the air transportation sector, please accept our support and solidarity as you continue your fight for a stronger, fairer collective agreement.
Unifor condemns the chilling actions of the anonymous figures who targeted and harassed Carrie Tait, a Globe and Mail journalist who has been investigating political interference at the Alberta Health Agency.
On July 10, 2025, an anonymous X account called, “The Brokedown,” posted surveillance photos of Tait in a dog park and at dinner. They also referred to her daily routines and threatened to “start exposing Carrie Tait’s sources in the continuing health care saga.”
Working people and communities across Canada continue to be adversely impacted by wildland fires, including forest fires and grassland fires. Forestry workers and forestry-dependent communities have experienced the devastating effects of forest fires, including loss of livelihoods, loss of homes and community infrastructure, and short- and long-term health challenges.
DUNCAN, B.C.—Transdev transit workers have voted down tentative offers that failed to close the wage gap with B.C. transit counterparts in Victoria and Vancouver. In the same vote, held August 7, they also opposed binding arbitration. This follows last month’s rejection of the provincial mediator’s recommendations.
The strike, which began February 8, centres on securing fair wages in line with other transit workers across the province.
Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer Len Poirier and Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi toured Grand River Transit (GRT) facilities in Kitchener alongside members of Unifor Local 4304 to recognize their work and engage with them directly about current workplace conditions and challenges.
“Unifor members at GRT play an essential role in keeping Kitchener-Waterloo moving,” said Poirier, who began his own career in the transportation sector as a truck driver in 1986.
VANCOUVER—Amazon has failed to overturn the B.C. Labour Relations Board’s ruling and the company suffered a scathing indictment from the Board about its conduct during the Unifor unionization drive at the Delta B.C. facility (“YVR2”).
TORONTO—Unifor, Canada’s forestry union, welcomes the federal government’s new measures to support Canada’s softwood lumber industry, including an emphasis on income supports for workers, product and market diversification, and a commitment to using Canadian lumber and wood products more effectively.
Colourful costumes and beats of masquerade bands came together to create magic at the annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival on Aug. 2, 2025, at Exhibition Place.
“The energy of this event–this celebration of diversity, community, and joy–is incredible and inspiring,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “Our union is proud to walk and dance in solidarity with our members and their families in the Grand Parade.”
WINDSOR—Wage protections, paid holidays, and improved benefits are highlights of a new three-year collective agreement reached with the Best Western Plus Waterfront in Windsor, ending a two-month strike.
“It was very important for these workers and Unifor to take a stand at a hotel where members were facing rollbacks. They stood together and stood firm,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “Members across the country rallied behind these determined hospitality workers to support their fight for fairness.”
