The Ontario government is investing a record $1.92 billion annually to support staffing in the province’s long-term care homes — a historic increase that coincides with achieving its goal of providing residents with an average of four hours of daily direct care.
“Our government is making historic investments to improve long-term care, by training, hiring and retaining thousands of health care workers,” said Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Minister of Long-Term Care. “This record investment into staffing will ensure those living in Ontario’s long-term care homes receive the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve.”
The investment builds on the province’s previous $4.9-billion, four-year staffing plan, which focused on recruitment, training, and retention and helped add more than 16,000 personal support workers and nurses to the workforce. Programs such as the PSW incentives initiative and the Supporting Professional Growth Fund have allowed more than 45,000 staff to advance their careers since 2022. The new funding will help support salaries and other employment costs as the province continues strengthening the sector’s workforce.
Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones said the funding reinforces Ontario’s broader health care commitments. “Under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government is continuing to protect Ontario’s health-care system — and that includes protecting long-term care,” she said. “Through this historic investment to increase the long-term care workforce, we are ensuring that Ontarians can receive the high-quality care they need and deserve, no matter where they live.”
Since 2021, long-term care residents have received an average of more than an hour of additional daily care from nurses and PSWs — a 36 per cent increase, equivalent to 15 extra days of care per resident each year.
The government says the long-term care improvement plan is focused on four key pillars: staffing and care, quality and enforcement, building modern and safe homes, and connecting seniors with faster, more convenient access to the services they need.
In the first quarter of the 2025-26 fiscal year, residents received an average of four hours and five minutes of PSW and nursing care daily. The province is also building 58,000 new and upgraded long-term care beds and expanding enrolment in nursing programs, with incentives of up to $35,400 available for PSW students and workers entering the field.
