TORONTO, ON, October 28, 2026 – The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) is calling for the implementation of mandatory nurse-to-patient ratios and demanding that the Ford government impose an immediate moratorium on registered nurse (RN) and health-care position cuts. ONA has received official notification of more than 1,900 registered nurse and health-care professional position cuts since January 2025, the majority to RN hospital positions. That totals 3.1 million hours annually of lost care across the province.
“The loss of more than three million hours of front-line care per year will have a devastating impact on nurses and health-care professionals, and everyone in this province,” said ONA Provincial President Erin Ariss, RN, at a media conference at Queen’s Park today. “This is the direct result of Premier Doug Ford and his government’s decision to underfund our public health care. The Ford government must immediately stop the cuts and commit to safe nurse staffing ratios to address this growing crisis.”
“Cutting RNs undermines patient safety, fuels workplace violence, lengthens wait times and leaves our public health-care system unprepared for predictable pressures, including flu season,” she said. “The erosion of RN care increases the risk of complications and failure to rescue, when a patient’s deteriorating condition is not recognized or acted upon in time. Meanwhile, nurses are experiencing financial hardship as they struggle to find employment. This is unacceptable.”
Ariss was joined by Ontario NDP Health Critic France Gélinas, whose party introduced legislation to implement safe staffing ratios; ONA Bargaining Unit President for London Health Sciences Centre Lindsay Carnahan, RN, who described the real-life impacts of cuts; and Ontario Health Coalition Executive Director Natalie Mehra, who spoke about the stories she hears from patients across the province who have been impacted.
“The evidence is clear that fewer RNs leads to more complications and even death, while increasing burnout and violence for those who remain,” said Ariss. “Make no mistake – these are Ford’s nursing cuts, and they are a public safety issue. Ontarians must hold this government accountable for cutting RNs and health-care professionals and gutting our public health care of the resources needed to keep Ontarians safe.”
The list of workplaces that have made cuts is now available on ONA’s website.
ONA is the union representing 68,000 registered 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.
-30-
