Ontario budget is boosting home care funding, but long-term care bed target unlikely to be reached

Ontario is investing $1.1 billion more in home health care as it grapples with the reality that it is unlikely to meet its goal of building 58,000 new long-term care beds by 2028.

Boosting funding for home care is part of Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy’s 2026 budget, which projects a deficit of $13.8 billion for the upcoming fiscal year.

But the budget released Thursday also reflects the harsh reality of the province’s ambitious goal of adding 58,000 new or upgraded nursing home beds within two years.

As of February, the province said approximately 26,000 nursing home beds “are either open, under construction or approved to begin construction.”

Bethlenfalvy was asked if the province could still meet its target.

“Okay, we’ll keep trying,” he said. “We’re ambitious here.”

“We’re going to keep building and going as far as we can because it’s the right thing to do,” he said.

The money for home care will be drawn down over the next three years. Bethlenfalvy said the province is investing about $6 billion overall in home care over the next few years.

“Part of our strategy for health care is to help people get care where they want it,” he said.

“I know a lot of people who would prefer to age at home … so we’re moving forward in providing home care.”

The money will be spent on hiring more nurses and personal support workers, with the goal of helping thousands of patients receive medical care at home and providing some relief to overburdened hospitals and long-term care homes.

Funding follows call from LTC advocates

The new funds follow calls from some in the long-term care industry who wanted to see investments in home care and supportive housing for seniors to help nursing homes, most of whom face wait times of months or years.

Advantage Ontario, which represents the majority of municipal and non-profit nursing homes in Ontario, made an unusual request for more funding for other related sectors and asked the government to invest at least $600 million in home care.

Long-term care operators have said the best way for people to get into care homes is to go to the hospital first. This allows patients to be designated as critical, giving them higher priority than others seeking a long-term care bed.

Data from the Canadian Institute of Health Information shows more than 50 per cent of people admitted to long-term care come from hospitals, a 67 per cent increase from pre-pandemic levels.

The situation is particularly problematic in Toronto, where nursing home closures have reduced the number of beds by about 700.

In 2019, the province said it would build 30,000 new long-term care beds within the next decade.

Then COVID-19 hit in early 2020, and the virus spread through Ontario’s long-term care homes, killing thousands. Some homes were so badly affected that they required the help of the Canadian military to operate.

Stalled progress leaves seniors in ‘bad place’: Opposition

Stalled progress on the Progressive Conservatives’ $6.4 billion long-term care plan leaves seniors in worse shape, Liberal interim leader John Fraser said.

It’s a lot of “big talk” and little action from Ford, Fraser said.

“They’re pretending, they’re not protecting,” Fraser said, referring to the Ford government’s “Protect Ontario” slogan, which it has used since last year’s election victory.

“The Conservative government is behind on increasing the number of long-term care beds it said it would create, and that’s really worrying,” said NDP finance critic Jessica Bell.

“We’ve got an aging population in Ontario, loved ones who need a good home for their parents.”