https://www.cna-aiic.ca/fr/blogs/ic-contenu/2026/01/21/projets-en-2026
As we look ahead to 2026, I am filled with optimism, pride, and confidence in the collective power of nurses across Canada. This year marks a pivotal moment for the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) as we renew our commitment to amplifying nursing expertise, strengthening our national voice, and advancing meaningful change for nurses, communities, and health systems.
A defining milestone in 2026 will be CNA’s first national conference in eight years, taking place September 21–23, 2026, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Treaty 1 Territory. This gathering represents more than a return to in-person connection — it is a national call to action. Under the theme The Power of Nurses to Transform Health — Our Expertise, Our Impacts, the conference will bring together direct care nurses and nurse practitioners, educators, researchers, policy-makers, system leaders, students, internationally educated nurses, and partners from across the country. Through streams focused on ethical practice, nurse-led innovation, optimized roles and team-based care, workforce well-being, and care system redesign, we will showcase how nurses are driving solutions, shaping policy, and transforming care in every setting, sector and community. A special thank you to the conference planning committee representatives and other partners for contributing to the development of this signature event. Also, we recognize our First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners, racialized communities, and the Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Nursing who have volunteered to review the abstract submissions.
Equally important in 2026 is our focus on membership experience and organizational revitalization. We are modernizing membership benefits and offerings, reviewing membership rates — including the recently launched free membership for students — and strengthening Affiliate and Chapter models to better reflect the diversity of nursing practice across Canada. Notably, Kathy Howe, CEO of the Alberta Association of Nurses (AAN), retires effective January 31 and we thank her for her strategic foresight, leadership, and legacy with the historic membership agreement between CNA and AAN! Also, there is still time for you to put your name forward and join the Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter executive committee (deadline is January 30).
By elevating leadership and member voices, launching CNA Champions for retention advocacy, and crafting a renewed engagement narrative, we are ensuring CNA remains relevant, accessible, and member-driven. Strategic technology infrastructure investments will allow new member-centred digital features and support the exploration of artificial intelligence to alleviate resource strain and build more opportunities for member connectivity with CNA staff and each other.
CNA’s commitment to truth, reconciliation, and anti-racism will be further advanced this year with the recent launch of The Path: Your Journey Through Indigenous Canada, a six-module learning journey co-designed with Indigenous experts and Indigenous nurse leaders. We will also be launching our co-created reconciliation framework on June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day, as part of our continued commitment to truth and reconciliation. Alongside these efforts, CNA will release a joint report from the Third National Summit on Racism in Nursing and Health Care and the Anti-Indigenous Racism Knowledge Sharing Event, and phase two of the CIHR-funded research project Tackling Racism and Discrimination in Nursing. Finally, we will be publishing Regulated Nursing in Canada: The Landscape in 2026 (Second Edition). These publications are not only resources — they are catalysts for accountability and action.
We are also modernizing the CNA Credentialing Centre, expanding specialty certification and accreditation programs domestically and internationally, launching new certification pathways, integrating membership with credentialing services, and enhancing client experience through automation and targeted employer engagement. These efforts ensure nurses’ competencies are recognized, portable and valued — wherever they practise.
Together, our credentialing programs, revitalized membership experience, signature events, and national advocacy and leadership give meaning to CNA membership. And remember, you have the opportunity to publish your experience, expertise and impacts in Canadian Nurse; make 2026 the year you write for our online journal, devoted to nursing for more than a century!
In 2026, we will reconnect, recommit, and reimagine what is possible — because when nurses lead, Canada’s health system is stronger for everyone.
Yours in nursing,
Valerie Grdisa, RN, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Nurses Association