From Breaking Point to Turning Point, Five Years of Data Signal Signs of Positive Change in Ontario's Nursing Crisis
WeRPN urges swift government action for deeper, faster reforms that can sustain recovery, and halt the silent exodus of senior, experienced practical nurses from frontline care.
TORONTO, May 12, 2025 May 12, 2025 – As Canada kicks off National Nursing Week (May 12-18), the Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (WeRPN) has just released a report with longitudinal data from 2020 to 2025, that has found long-awaited signs of healing and hope on the horizon, amid Ontario's nursing crisis.
"Our findings show that efforts to address staff shortages in nursing are working, nurses' mental health indicators are improving, and overall, we have good reason to bring hope back into our profession," says Dianne Martin, Chief Executive Officer, WeRPN. "These measurable improvements can be credited back to the collective efforts of healthcare leaders, government policymakers and direct voices from our profession, who have all come together and committed to sustainable, long-term solutions."
WeRPN's annual State of Nursing in Ontario report, based on a survey of over 1,000 practical nurses, bears witness to a profession that is building back from the brink of collapse. A cross-comparison of data over half-a-decade has found for example, that in 2020–2021, 99 per cent of nurses reported being directly affected by nursing shortages and unmanageable workloads. In 2025, that number has declined to 69 per cent. At the peak of strain in 2022, 79 per cent of nurses said they had reached a breaking point due to their work; today, that figure stands at 60 per cent. Likewise, the percentage of nurses experiencing moral distress has dropped from 78 per cent in 2022 to 59 per cent this year.
"Now this fragile trajectory must be safeguarded and accelerated as these current figures are still far too high to accept," adds Martin. "Significant work lies ahead to meet the standard of care that Ontarians expect and deserve and we know we can all get there together."
Specifically, WeRPN's report highlights some key concerns that require urgent attention: Escalating stress is shortening nursing careers from decades to mere years; a silent exodus of experienced nurses is thinning frontline care; and unsustainable workloads are harming both nurses and patients. Nearly 48 per cent of nurses are considering leaving the profession, while 65 per cent report seeing experienced nurses leave. Eighty-one percent feel their workload is compounding year-over-year, and 70 per cent believe Ontario is coping via an over-reliance on costly private, for-profit agency nurses.
Based on these findings, WeRPN is calling on the government to act urgently in five key areas to deepen and fast-track change:
- Legislate safe staffing and workload standards: Set standardized, safe workloads to protect nurses, ensure patient safety and reverse the decline in patient care standards. Where possible establish legislated nurse-to-patient ratios.
- Ensure wage parity: Harmonize and competitively align wages across all nursing sectors to improve retention.
- Establish accountability for care: Monitor staffing levels and hold organizations accountable for patient outcomes when safe staffing standards are not met.
- Streamline educational opportunities: Support career growth by providing financial assistance and accessible learning opportunities to retain experienced nurses.
- Regulate nursing agencies: Establish standards for profit-margins, and reduce dependence on for-profit nursing agencies by investing in more well-planned, full-time nursing positions.
This year's National Nursing Week theme is "The Power of Nurses to Transform Health." In this spirit, within the survey, WeRPN asked nurses: If they could change one thing about their jobs, what would it be? Their overwhelming response was: To spend more time with patients. They wanted more time to listen to patients, to know them, to understand their needs, to problem-solve and personalize care, to be present, to reassure them, and to simply not have to keep rushing onto the next patient.
"This is indeed how our nurses transform health every day – by giving their all – their time, their care, their wisdom and their compassion, to make sure every Ontarian can heal and thrive," explains Martin. "Systemic change is complex, but WeRPN remains optimistic that proven solutions are within reach, and that the onus is on all of us as leaders, to give nurses this time that they are asking for so selflessly."
Martin says, Ontario shouldn't set its goals to just meet baseline standards. Rather, the province's commitment should be to strive towards the profession's highest aspirations. Meaningful change isn't just possible, it is within attainable reach.
About the survey: In 2025, WeRPN conducted a comprehensive survey to document and benchmark the current state of nursing in Ontario, and the challenges and opportunities facing this profession. This annual survey follows previous research conducted in 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2020. The survey methodology is as follows. From March 25 to April 10, 2025, an online survey was conducted among 1,025 Registered Practical Nurses across Ontario, by WeRPN. For comparison purposes only, the sample plan would carry a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. Visit stateofnursing.ca to read the full report.
About WeRPN: WeRPN is the professional voice of Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) across the province. There are 60,000+ RPNs in Ontario. WeRPN builds the profile and professional capacity of RPNs so they can better care for patients and better support their fellow healthcare workers. The association works closely with its members and the healthcare community to support and advocate for the concerns of Ontario's RPNs. Follow WeRPN on social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok.
SOURCE Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (WeRPN)
Media requiring further information, or to coordinate an interview, please contact: Carla Silvestrone, LABOUR, 416.986.9835, [email protected]; Lauren Bell, LABOUR, 613.922.7098, [email protected]
Share this article