Ontario Investing Nearly $100 Million to Protect and Support Long-Term Care

January 29, 2026

Funding is part of the government’s historic $1.92 billion investment in Ontario’s long-term care system

NEWMARKET — The Ontario government is delivering on its plan to protect Ontario’s long-term care system by investing nearly $100 million to support staffing at long-term care homes across York Region, including $3.2 million for the Newmarket Health Centre municipal home. These investments are part of the government’s record $1.92 billion annual funding to support the significant increase in staffing in the province’s long-term care homes across the province.

“This investment is critical to ensuring long-term care residents in Newmarket-Aurora and York Region have access to the care they need,” said Dawn Gallagher Murphy, MPP for Newmarket-Aurora and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Long-Term Care. “Today’s funding will ensure we can attract and retain the staff we need to deliver more direct care to residents across the province.”

MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy made the announcement at the York Region Newmarket Health Centre municipal home which is receiving $3.2 million as part of the nearly $100 million investment in the York Region and 1.92 billion annual funding across Ontario. Compared to 2021, long-term care residents are now receiving over four hours of care per day, on average. That’s more than an hour of additional daily direct care from nurses and PSWs and a 36 per cent increase, equivalent to 15 days of additional care per resident, per year.

The government’s investment builds on the 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 provincial workforce. As a result of highly successful initiatives like the PSW incentives program and the Supporting Professional Growth Fund, which helped more than 45,000 existing staff advance their careers between 2022 and 2024, the new funding will support salaries and other employment costs as the government continues to strengthen the sector’s workforce.

“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.”

Building the long-term care workforce is one more way the government is ensuring Ontarians get the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve. The plan to improve long-term care is 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 the services they need.

QUICK FACTS

  • In the first quarter of the government’s 2025-26 fiscal year, residents received an average of 4 hours and 5 minutes of PSW and nursing care every day.
  • Seniors — people age 65 and older — make up the fastest growing age group in the province.
  • As part of its plan to fix long-term care and address waitlists, the government is building 58,000 new and upgraded long-term care beds across the province.
  • In August 2025, the Ontario government announced it is investing $56.8 million to expand enrolment in nursing programs at publicly assisted colleges and universities across the province.
  • Ontario is offering incentives of up to $35,400 to PSW students and eligible PSWs to launch careers in long-term care homes and in the home and community care sector.

QUOTES

“Today’s announcement builds on our government’s commitment to strengthening long-term care by investing in more training and retention of health care workers. This investment is about people: helping seniors age with dignity where they live, supporting the staff who care for them, and strengthening long-term care for residents and families in Thornhill, in York Region and across Ontario”

– Laura Smith, M.P.P. Thornhill

“On behalf of York Regional Council and the nearly 1.3 million residents we serve, I thank the Government of Ontario for this record investment in long-term care. This funding will directly support the nurses, personal support workers and frontline teams who provide high-quality, resident-centred care in York Region’s two long-term care homes. By investing in the people who care for our seniors, the province is helping ensure these investments translate into safer care, stronger relationships and a better quality of life for residents and families.”

– Eric Jolliffe, Chairman and CEO, The Regional Municipality of York

“Ontario’s historic $1.92 billion investment in long-term care reflects strong leadership and a clear understanding of what seniors and families need now and into the future. By investing in new long-term care spaces and the workforce that delivers care every day, the government is strengthening capacity at a time when the growth of the senior population continues to outpace available spaces”.

– Donna Duncan, CEO, Ontario Long-Term Care Association

“This investment and the sector’s success in reaching the four hours of care average deserve high praise. Nothing has a more direct and positive impact on residents’ quality of life than more staff. This has been a key advocacy priority for our association since it was first recommended in 2008, and we commend the government for taking concrete steps to make this goal a reality.”

– Lisa Levin, CEO, AdvantAge Ontario

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