Ontario Continues to Expand Nursing Workforce

The Ontario government is investing over $4.2 million to expand nursing education across the province. These investments will improve access to care by ensuring more nurses are trained and ready to work in communities across Ontario.

“By investing in education and accelerating training for nurses, our government is protecting Ontario and building on our progress to grow our nursing workforce for years to come,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “These investments will help ensure families can connect to the care they need no matter where they live, while also supporting the next generation of health-care professionals.”

The government is investing $2 million to support the launch of an accelerated registered nursing (RN) degree program at four post-secondary institutions to allow students to complete their undergraduate program within three to three-and-a-half years, instead of four years, enabling nurses to enter the workforce sooner. Conestoga College (Kitchener), St. Lawrence College (Kingston), Western University (London) and York University (Toronto) will receive up to $500,000 to support the development and implementation of the accelerated nursing program, beginning in the 2025–26 and 2026–27 academic years.

In addition, Ontario is investing $750,000 to support the inclusion of RN prescribing education into the undergraduate nursing curriculum at Georgian College (Barrie), Humber Polytechnic (Toronto) and the University of Windsor, enabling nurses to play a greater role in patient care by prescribing medication. This will make Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to include RN prescribing in undergraduate programs.

“Ontario’s world-class colleges and universities are training the health-care workforce of today, and tomorrow,” said Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security. “This critical investment will equip our province’s nursing students with the skills and education they need to get into the health-care workforce at a quicker rate and deliver excellent care in communities across the province.”

Finally, to support access to health care in northern and rural Ontario, the province is investing nearly $1.5 million to expand the capacity for nursing programs at Confederation College in Thunder Bay and Cambrian College in Sudbury. This funding will help increase enrolment and create new clinical placement opportunities by adding 50 new registered practical nursing seats at Confederation College and 17 at Cambrian College.

Through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government continues to take bold and decisive action to grow the province’s highly skilled health-care workforce and ensure people and their families have access to high-quality care closer to home for generations to come.

Quick Facts