How Doug Ford’s Policies Are Damaging Ontario’s Healthcare System

In the final days of Ontario PC leader Doug Ford’s unnecessary snap election, Ontario’s healthcare crisis ranks as the number one issue for voters. 

The “crisis in healthcare,” as health experts themselves describe it, only appears to be deepening as another facility in Ontario announced Monday it was cutting jobs due to “provincial underfunding.”

In a statement Monday,  Ontario Council of Hospital Unions President Michael Hurley announced, “750 positions will be cut at Unity Health Toronto due to provincial underfunding.”

750 positions will be cut at Unity Health Toronto due to provincial underfunding. Hospitals have a combined $800 million in deficits and are cutting staff and services across Ontario. So much for ending hallway medicine. pic.twitter.com/MWUzG6OWEe

— MichaelHurleyCUPE (@HurleyOCHUCUPE) February 24, 2025

The recent cuts are just one of many issues currently plaguing Ontario’s health care system. Here’s a list of ways Ford has failed to meet his many healthcare promises and contributed to the crisis. 

Hallway medicine at its worst 

Earlier this month, OCHU-CUPE also highlighted the fact that under Ford, hallway medicine is worse now than ever before — with the number of patients on stretchers in hallways increasing more than 125% since Ford first promised to “end hallway medicine” in 2018.

In 2025, 2,000 people reportedly received treatment on stretchers in hallways because there are not enough hospital beds, according to OCHU-CUPE.

Family doctor shortage worsens  

At the same time, Ontario is also experiencing a health care worker shortage, and 2.5 million Ontarians do not have a family doctor.

In 2016, before the Ford government was elected, this number was closer to 1.3 million. Experts say that the crisis could only get worse if the government does not take decisive action.

According to the Ontario Health Coalition, by 2024, “one in five local emergency departments have experienced closures.”

Shortage of nurses and investment in private healthcare

In addition, the province is also “25,000 nurses short,” meaning health care workers who are still working in the system are overworked and under resourced.

Erin Ariss, provincial president of the Ontario Nurse’s Association, says the Ford government’s under-spending on public health care and simultaneous investment in private services has further contributed to the crisis.

“It is not in the best interest of Ontarians to privatize our system. It’s in the best interest to spend the money that this government has budgeted and invest in the system that we have,” Ariss told PressProgress.

Chronic underfunding and misleading Ontarians

During the final leaders’ debate last week, Ford made big claims about investments in healthcare, stating that he’s made “the biggest investments in healthcare in the history of the country.”

However, Ontario’s financial accountability office notes the province had the lowest health spending in Canada in 2022-2023—to the tune of over $1 billion. 

According to the Ontario Health Coalition, per capita, “Ontario funds public health care at the lowest rate in Canada.”

Ford also made claims that his government has helped hire more nurses, but more nurses are also leaving the profession due to unmanageable working conditions. 

Long Term Care beds no where near promised 

Nearly 48,000 people in Ontario are waiting for long term care –a number that has doubled in the last 10 years. 

Long term care staff say Ford has “failed to deliver,” on promises to fix gaps in care and staffing at LTC facilities in Ontario. 

“At the rate they are going, it will take 125 years to add the 30,000 beds they promised by 2028. Working conditions have not improved, we are chronically understaffed. The PCs are falling far short,” Jason Harasymchuk, a Sudbury registered practical nurse, speaking on behalf of CUPE 1182 said in a release.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, long term care in Ontario was in a huge crisis, in part as a result of Ford’s inaction. Ontario’s Auditor General said Ford’s government failed to provide “adequate funding and resources for public health.”

Gutting harm reduction services 

The Ford government also closed a number of safe consumption sites across the province last year, despite calls from experts that more are needed. 

The Ontario PC government also tabled a bill which would make it more difficult to open new sites in the province, as well. According to an investigation from The Pointer, the Ford government was “aware of risks associated with closing several supervised consumption sites,” but chose to proceed without adequate planning or consultation. 

In 2024, the average number of opioid toxicity deaths in Ontario increased to seven per day.