New report shows 7,200 nurses could be cut in Ontario due to underfunding, on the heels of 13 layoffs announced in North Bay

TORONTO, Oct. 28, 2025 /CNW/ - A sobering new report from Ontario's Financial Accountability Office (FAO) released last week reveals that if the Ford government fails to improve health-care funding, 7,263 nurses could be cut by 2027-28, further worsening Ontario's number of nurses per capita.

Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) Provincial President Erin Ariss, RN, notes, "Cutting 7,200 nurses from front-line care across all sectors will be a calamity for people in this province. Ontario is desperately short of nursing care across all sectors, and we are already seeing registered nurses being cut, including 13 of them in North Bay just last week. With this new projection, we can see health care getting worse for our patients, residents and clients."

The FAO report bases its estimates on the province's projection of a growth of the health-care budget at 0.7 per cent. The FAO says that health-sector spending would need to increase by four per cent per year over the next three years to maintain Ontario's current service levels, let alone improve them.

"North Bay Regional Health Centre just issued layoff notices to 13 registered nurses," notes Ariss, "and University Health Network announced nurse cuts in June. These nurses are being cut despite a system that is already critically understaffed, which will only drive up wait times, and make it harder to retain staff. Without improved government funding, health-care employers in every sector will continue to balance their budgets by cutting front-line staff."

Intentionally underfunding public health care goes hand-in-hand with the Ford government's plan to divert taxpayer dollars to expand for-profit, private clinics and procedures, despite the evidence that it is more costly and hurts access to care for most Ontarians.

"The Ford government must stop their reckless agenda to gut our public health care of funding and nurses to subsidize and expand private interests. If the Premier really wants to improve care, he must step up and fund it properly, ensuring transparency from health-care employers so funding goes to front-line care, where it belongs," concludes Ariss.

ONA is the union representing 68,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals, as well as more than 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics, and industry.

SOURCE Ontario Nurses' Association

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