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Approximately 57,000 education workers are voting this week on whether to give their union a strike mandate. They are represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ (CUPE) Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU) and the vote runs from Nov. 4 to 18, amidst ongoing contract negotiations with the provincial government.
Education workers point to Ontario schools that are facing widespread shortages of educational assistants, leaving students with special education needs without consistent classroom support and raising concerns about the safety of the workers responsible for helping them.
A May 2026 report from Ontario’s auditor general found that half of elementary schools in the Peel District School Board did not have enough educational assistants. The report also discovered that across the three school boards examined, including the Toronto District School Board, between 49 and 72 per cent of EA absences went unfilled.
The shortage is affecting students who need additional support. A Nov. 10 survey conducted by the Canadian Union of Public Employees found that 95 per cent of educational assistants had students at their schools who needed EA support but were not receiving it.
“It’s frustrating and disheartening to see students struggling and not getting the supports and resources they deserve,” said educational assistant Kristy Lupel. Lupel, who works for the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, explained that the staffing gaps are making it increasingly difficult to provide students with the individual attention they need.
Her responsibilities range from helping students with classroom activities and personal care, including toileting and dressing, to managing challenging behaviours, physical aggression and following safety plans.
Lupel said students who previously received one-on-one assistance are being grouped together with a single educational assistant, leaving workers stretched between students with different needs.
The lack of staffing can also create dangerous situations for workers, Lupel said. She added that workers are not always given proper debriefings or changes to safety plans after violent incidents.
“Violence is being normalized in our schools and there is a fallacy that getting hurt is a part of this job,” Lupel said.
While the vote does not mean workers will immediately walk off the job, it gives the union a mandate to pursue further labour action if negotiations do not result in an agreement.
“I have referred to EAs as ambassadors for inclusion,” wrote Dr. John Freer, a professor in the School of Community Studies and former educational assistant at Western University. “They play an incredibly important role in the success of inclusive education when they are trained and utilized properly.”
He explained that staffing shortages affect not only workers but also the ability of schools to provide inclusive learning environments.
Educational assistants support students in developing social skills, managing challenging behaviours, receiving personal care and participating in academic activities.
When schools cannot find qualified replacements, students may go without the support they need to participate in the classroom. Assigning workers without appropriate training can also create further behavioural and safety concerns, Freer said.
“The problem is not with the notion of inclusion, but in the way in which it is supported and implemented,” wrote Freer.
For CUPE’s OSBCU, the staffing concerns are among the issues at the centre of the current labour negotiations.
Chronic understaffing and inadequate funding have contributed to unmanageable workloads for education workers, explained Union president Joe Tigani.
“Our members are fighting for more funding, more staffing, better wages, job security, and the resources Ontario students and workers deserve,” wrote Tigan in an emailed response.
The union is also calling for safer working conditions and more resources to ensure students receive the individual attention they need, Tigani added.
Pay is another concern for educational assistants, particularly as the cost of living continues to rise. Ontario Living Wage shows that the median wage for EAs in the Toronto region is $26 an hour, according to the federal government’s Job Bank. That is below the Greater Toronto Area’s 2026 living wage of $27.60 an hour, calculated by the Ontario Living Wage Network.
In Freer’s response he wrote that improving conditions will require better compensation, more comprehensive training and greater recognition of the expertise educational assistants bring to schools.
Lupel said educational assistants want to give students the support they need to grow and become more independent, but current working conditions are making that increasingly difficult.
“Under the current circumstances, EAs are unable to perform their jobs efficiently and safely,” she said.
As contract negotiations continue, she hopes improved staffing and resources will allow educational assistants to better support the students who rely on them every day.
Reporter, OTR, F2026.
