As 2025 comes to a close, I want to thank you, Ontario’s nurses, for your unwavering commitment to safe, high-quality care. Your professionalism, compassion and leadership continue to be the foundation of nursing in our province.
At the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO), our purpose is clear: to protect the public through safe nursing practice. That goal is only possible because of you. Patient safety is a shared responsibility, and your work makes it real every day.
This year, we’ve seen your strength and adaptability in action. You have embraced evolving scopes of practice, supported patients across diverse care settings and helped shape a more equitable and responsive health system.
At CNO, we’ve focused on modernizing standards to reflect today’s realities. We have advanced RN prescribing, streamlined registration pathways for internationally educated nurses, worked with system partners to address workforce needs and strengthened labour mobility for Canadian nurses. Together, we welcomed over 12,800 new nurses into Ontario’s health care system—an important milestone that reflects our shared commitment to growing the profession and ensuring safe care for the public. Nurses across the province played a vital role in supporting their transition into practice, helping new colleagues integrate into teams and deliver safe, effective care.
We recognize the pressures many nurses continue to face, including burnout and stress. Supporting nurses in safe practice is central to our mandate. Through regulatory modernization, data sharing and ongoing engagement, we aim to inform and support the conditions that enable safe, effective nursing care.
As we look ahead to 2026, our commitment remains strong: to listen, guide and work alongside you in supporting safe, ethical and compassionate care.
Thank you for all that you do. It is an honour to serve with you. Wishing you a restful holiday season and a happy, healthy new year.
Silvie Crawford, RN, BHScN, LLM - Health Law
Registrar & CEO