About Our Union

About UFCW Canada

Building a better life for Canada’s hard-working families

We are the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW Canada) – a proud union that feeds, serves, and provides for Canada’s hard-working families.

We are more than a quarter of a million strong, and together we are building a stronger future for UFCW Canada members, families and communities, while protecting and promoting employees rights and social justice for all.

We are one of Canada's most experienced and respected unions, with a union history that goes back to the 1800s. At the same time, we are one of Canada's most youthful unions with more than 40 percent of UFCW Canada members under the age of 30.

We are a democratic union. Members vote for their Local Union leaders, the bylaws that govern their Local Unions, and their collective agreements.

We are a Canadian union backed up by the strength of UFCW International – one of North America’s largest private-sector unions with more than 1.3 million members across six different time zones.

UFCW is one of Canada’s most diverse unions and we proudly represent and help to organize workers in every aspect of the food chain, as well as healthcare, security, non-food manufacturing, office and professional, and other key sectors of the economy.

UFCW Canada national headquarters are situated on territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Anishnawbe peoples and home to many other First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. UFCW Canada offices and local union offices are also situated across Turtle Island.

We recognize that Indigenous peoples are the first and rightful land holders and workers of this land and the first peoples to have a relationship to the food system and environment we contribute to and benefit from today. As a national union fighting to protect worker rights, we affirm our commitment to advance Indigenous justice with guidance provided by the UFCW Canada Indigenous Sub-Committee and through union representation and advocacy at large.

UFCW Canada – Democracy, Solidarity and Strength

The structure of UFCW Canada is built on the strength and participation of the membership. Members in each workplace are represented and serviced by one of 24 UFCW Canada Local Unions across Canada.

Each Local Union is part of the national union through membership in the UFCW Canada National Council. Some UFCW Canada Local Unions are small, representing just a few dozen workers at a single workplace. Others have tens of thousands of members working at hundreds of workplaces across a province.

No matter their size, all UFCW Canada Local Unions only exist because of the membership, who nominate and elect the president, secretary-treasurer, recorder and three or more vice presidents of their Local Union.

Most UFCW Canada Local Unions have their own full-time union representatives, organizers and administrative staff. Some smaller Local Unions are supported with training, bargaining, organizing and administrative services through the UFCW Canada National Office.

The UFCW Canada National Council

All UFCW Canada Local Unions are represented at the UFCW Canada National Council. The National Council meets twice per year and is the union’s National Executive Board and leadership forum.

A full list and photo gallery of executive board members can be found here.

The National Council has six Advisory Committees that help create ongoing programs to build the union's strength and better prepare UFCW Canada for the future. The National Council Committees include:

Members of the Committees are drawn from UFCW Canada Local Unions across Canada — acting as a voice for membership concerns and initiatives.

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