The Ontario government is making a historic investment of $1.92 billion to protect and expand the province’s long-term care system. This funding supports a significant increase in staffing over the past four years, helping Ontario surpass its target of an average of four hours of daily direct care for residents provided by nurses and personal support workers (PSWs) this spring. The investment builds on a previous four-year, $4.9 billion staffing plan that added more than 16,000 PSWs and nurses and supported career advancement for over 45,000 existing staff through initiatives like the PSW incentives program and the Supporting Professional Growth Fund.
The government aims to strengthen the long-term care workforce by covering salaries and employment costs while ensuring residents receive high-quality care. Compared to 2021, residents now receive more than an hour of additional direct daily care, marking a 36 per cent increase equivalent to 15 extra days of care per resident each year. This effort forms part of a broader plan built on four pillars: staffing and care, quality and enforcement, building modern, safe, and comfortable homes, and connecting seniors with faster, more convenient access to services.
As part of this strategy, Ontario is expanding the capacity of nursing programs at colleges and universities with a $56.8 million investment and offering incentives of up to $35,400 to PSW students and eligible workers to enter the long-term care and home care sectors. The province is also building 58,000 new and upgraded long-term care beds to address waitlists and ensure that seniors have access to the care and support they need.
Government officials, including Minister of Long-Term Care Natalia Kusendova-Bashta and Deputy Premier Sylvia Jones, emphasized that this historic investment ensures that seniors across Ontario can live with dignity while receiving quality care. Leaders from the long-term care sector praised the funding for its direct impact on residents’ quality of life, highlighting the importance of staffing, training, and retention in maintaining and improving care standards.
The investment reflects Ontario’s continued commitment to long-term care, recognizing that more staff and improved workforce capacity directly enhance the wellbeing of seniors while laying the foundation for sustainable, high-quality care in the years ahead.
