(Image Credit: Covenant Health)

By Jesse Gill

Health Care

AUPE ratifies new agreement for nursing staff with Covenant Health, including in Medicine Hat

Feb 24, 2026 | 12:54 PM

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) announced on Monday that a new collective agreement has been ratified with Covenant Health, following a vote in which 89.2 percent of members supported it.

This includes nursing care staff at St. Joseph’s Home in Medicine Hat and several other locations in Alberta.

Voter turnout was 69.2 per cent of those eligible.

“This new agreement significantly improves wages and working conditions for Covenant Health’s nursing care staff,” says AUPE President Sandra Azocar.

“Our work is far from over,” she added.

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“AUPE members across the province will now have the chance to regroup and reorganize as we prepare for more bargaining when this agreement expires in 2028.”

The deal is retroactive to April 1, 2024. It includes a pay increase of 12 per cent over four years and improved benefits, along with market adjustments of 10 per cent for licensed practical nurses and four per cent for certified and uncertified Health Care Aides.

The new collective agreement is set to expire at the end of March 2028.

A spokesperson for AUPE told Pattison affiliate Lethbridge News Now that approximately 2,500 nurses are impacted by this deal.

The AUPE is the largest union in western Canada, representing over 100,000 members. 

— With files from David Opinko