Wave of Registered Nurse Cuts Announced Across Ontario
Cuts Endangering Patient Care, Ontario Nurses’ Association Warns
TORONTO, July 8, 2026 /CNW/ – The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) is tracking the latest round of cuts to registered nurses (RNs), nurse practitioners and health-care professionals from Ontario health-care facilities, sounding the alarm on a tsunami of new cuts from across the province, worsening working conditions and leaving patients in a number of communities with less care.
“It is unacceptable that in a province with the lowest number of RNs per capita, hospital and long-term care CEOs are balancing their books by cutting more RNs,” says ONA Provincial President Erin Ariss, RN. “Cutting RNs and front-line care makes it harder for communities to access care and hurts the safety of hospital patients, long-term care residents and workers alike. We should be increasing RN care through safe staffing ratios, not gutting an already decimated nursing workforce.”
ONA has received notice of cuts to hundreds of registered nurses, nurse practitioners and other health-care professionals from both hospitals and long-term care homes. Cuts have been announced at Main Street Terrace Long-Term Care Home, Mount Sinai Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Lakeridge Health in Durham Region, Brantford General Hospital in Brantford, St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, London Health Sciences Centre, Markham-Stouffville Hospital in Markham and Queensway Carleton Hospital in Ottawa this week. These cuts total tens of thousands of hours of registered nurse care lost annually. ONA is still verifying the exact numbers and receiving new notices of further cuts.
“The Ford government is intentionally underfunding our public health-care system in its quest to justify more privatization, and in response employers are cutting RNs and front-line care, instead of redirecting their profits or executive bonuses,” says Ariss. “This will do nothing to save money, increase access or improve care. Now, patients in Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Durham Region, London and elsewhere will wait even longer for care, nurses and health-care workers will be expected to care for more patients or residents than is safe, and our system will suffer yet another blow. These cuts must be stopped.”
ONA is tracking the number of RN cuts across Ontario. To see how many and where nurses are being cut, visit: ona.org/cuts. The tracker will be updated as more cuts are announced.
“Underfunding and understaffing in our public health-care system has devastating impacts on everyone,” says Ariss. “Ontarians must pay attention to what’s happening, and more importantly, speak up and demand the Ford government stop funding private care and reinvest in safe nurse-to-patient ratios,” says Ariss. “We will all need health care. And we will all need nurses to provide it.”
ONA is the union representing 68,000 nurses and health-care professionals, as well as 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.
SOURCE Ontario Nurses’ Association
