How underfunding created a vicious cycle of privatization (Americanization)
$9.2B
Paid to for-profit staffing agencies over 10 years1
(2013-2023)
Note: Most of this growth occurred since 2018 (2018–2023)
Real per capita spending cuts for 7 of 10 years
Hospitals can't retain workers
Expensive private agencies fill the gaps
Public Hospital Staff
+6%
Real per capita spending growth (2013-2023)
Private Staffing Agencies
+98%
Real per capita spending growth (2013-2023)
North West
17% of staffing costs
480%
increase in agency costs
North Simcoe Muskoka
7% of staffing costs
372%
increase in agency costs
North East
11% of staffing costs
216%
increase in agency costs
Central West
9% of staffing costs
Significant
increase in agency costs
In 2022-23, private agencies accounted for:
0.4%
of frontline hours worked
6%
of total labour costs ($725M)
Private agency staff cost at least 3x more than regular employees
Source: CCPA "Hollowed Out" Report1
Underfunding has left Ontario with one of the lowest-capacity hospital systems in the industrialized world
66
of 134 hospitals
had budget deficits in 2023-24
33/38
OECD ranking
staff hospital beds per capita
Per capita hospital spending, 2022
Real per capita hospital spending decreased in 7 of 10 years (2013-2022)
63% of hospitals under $100M revenue had deficits
Ontario has the second-fewest hospital beds per capita in Canada4
Source: CCPA "Hollowed Out" Report1
The Solution
$2 billion annually
Additional funding needed to stabilize public hospitals and increase capacity
Recent provincial bed allocation decisions reveal a clear privatization (Americanization) agenda
Municipal and non-profit operators have historically provided the majority of long-term care
Since 2018, new bed allocations have shifted dramatically toward for-profit operators2
For-profit LTC homes have worse outcomes
Higher mortality rates, lower staffing levels, more violations
Public dollars flow to private profits
Every new for-profit bed is a permanent commitment of public funding to private operators
Capacity leaves the public system
Once built, these beds are locked into the for-profit system for decades
Some communities are hit harder than others
Fastest-growing, most-racialized communities have the lowest per capita hospital spending
Central West
Brampton, Etobicoke, Peel
Central
Markham, Vaughan, North York
Central East
Durham, Peterborough, Scarborough
Tell your MPP to reinvest in public hospitals, reduce dependence on private agencies, and protect care as a public service.