Nicole Heintzman
The shortage of nurses in Ontario is not new and has left Ontario’s healthcare system understaffed, under-performing, and trailing behind the rest of Canada for the last thirty years. The start of the pandemic in March 2020 marked further turmoil for Ontario’s already struggling nursing shortage — the province was 22,000 registered nurses short compared to the rest of Canada while COVID-19 infections spiked, according to a report by the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario.
The COVID-19 pandemic represents the largest public health crisis endured by Canada in the past century and has significantly tested its public health systems since early 2020. This shortage — an ongoing issue in Ontario for decades — is driven by misguided government and employer policies that reduce the number of nurses employed in Ontario, according to the RNAO.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this shortage due to increased stress in the workplace, constant overtime, poor pay, and limited resources. These working conditions, coupled with other universal stresses of the pandemic, have led to rising levels of burnout in the nursing profession. Over the past two years, more nurses have either been taking on part-time positions or leaving the profession entirely, according to advocates for the nursing sector.
“If the RNAO recommendations on recruiting and retaining nurses aren’t taken seriously, the province will face repercussions. This kind of nursing exodus threatens people’s health and our health system,” said Doris Grinspun, CEO of the RNAO, in an interview with CTV News.
The RNAO report highlighted more than 20 percent of early-career RNs between 26 and 35 years of age are at risk of leaving the profession after the pandemic. Ontario is also likely to see a “very significant post-pandemic loss of late-career RNs/NPs” due to early retirement.
Bill 124 is also a hot topic in conversations around Ontario’s growing nursing shortage. The bill “limits wage increases for public sector workers to one per cent per year over the course of a three-year moderation period,” according to the CTV News report. Advocates for improved worker conditions have been calling for the bill’s repeal since being introduced in 2019 by Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
The Ontario provincial government plans to invest $342 million over the next five years to add over 13,000 workers to Ontario’s health care system, including over 5,000 nurses.
Despite these additional investments, without pay raises or increased mental health resources, a nursing shortage in Ontario is likely to persist.
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