RESEARCH · MANDATORY OVERTIME
Canadian nurses averaged 8.2 hours of overtime per week in 2022 — a record high.
Mandatory overtime is the single labour-conditions metric where the federal-vs-provincial split matters most. Quebec's TSO (temps supplémentaire obligatoire) sits in a different legal substrate than Ontario's 'mandatory' overtime. The figures below distinguish them carefully — anyone publishing a single national mandatory-OT percentage is conflating two different things.
The figures
BACKGROUND — StatCan 2023
8.2h
average overtime per full-time Canadian nurse per week — record-high (2022)
StatCan — Labour Force Survey (2023)https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/4165-nurses-working-harder-more-hours-amid-increased-labour-shortage
BACKGROUND — FIQ / Radio-Canada 2023
2.75%
of all FIQ nursing hours were mandatory OT in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean — January 2023 peak
FIQ / Radio-Canada — Palmarès TSO (2023)https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1977418/palmares-tso-hopitaux-legault-quebec-temps-supplementaire-obligatoire
BACKGROUND — Radio-Canada 2025
$7M
cost of mandatory-OT grievance compensation at one Quebec CIUSSS in 2025
Radio-Canada — CIUSSS TSO infirmières (2025)https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2207731/ciusss-tso-infirmieres-employes-hopital
How to refuse mandatory overtime (Quebec / Ontario)
- Document the request: who asked, when, the proposed extra hours, and any threat of discipline. A written record (text, email, or a contemporaneous note) protects you later.
- In Quebec: cite article 12.07 of the FIQ collective agreement — TSO is exceptional, not routine. The local FIQ representative can grieve a pattern of repeated TSO under the same employer.
- In Ontario: there is no statutory cap on hours past 48/week if the employer has filed an Excess Hours Agreement, but you may decline if refusing does not endanger an in-progress patient. Document the patient hand-off.
- Federal jurisdiction (e.g. Indigenous Services nurses): Canada Labour Code Part III caps hours at 48/week without the worker's written consent.
- If the employer retaliates after your refusal: file a formal complaint with the CNESST (QC) or the Ministry of Labour (ON) within 90 days, and report anonymously on CareVoice so the pattern enters the public record.
Frequently asked
- Is mandatory overtime legal for nurses in Canada?
- It depends on the province. In Quebec, TSO is governed by the Code du travail and the FIQ collective agreement; refusing can trigger an OIIQ complaint for patient abandonment. In Ontario, 'mandatory' overtime under ONA contracts is grievable. Manitoba's Bill 205 (2022) sought to restrict it but is not yet enacted.
- How much overtime do Canadian nurses actually work?
- 8.2 hours per week on average for full-time nurses in 2022 — a record high. 9.5% worked 49+ hours per week, vs. 6.2% in 2019. 10.2% worked unpaid overtime (Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey, 2023).
- How bad is TSO in Quebec?
- TSO peaked at 2.75% of all FIQ-member hours in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean in January 2023 — equivalent to one extra full shift forced every two weeks per nurse (FIQ data via Radio-Canada). Under the new 2024–2028 collective agreement, the rate dropped below 1% network-wide, but ~30,000 historical TSO grievances cost one CIUSSS $7M to settle in 2025.