If anyone—senior or younger—was wondering what the key issue is in the Ontario election, it became abundantly clear in the lively provincial leadership debates. Health care, in all of its ramifications, dominated the conversation far more than the high cost of living, homelessness, education and transportation. The NDP, Liberals and Greens attacked the Progressive Conservatives on all fronts but the area that had the highest resonance was in the area of health. The decline in doctors and personal support workers (PSW) throughout the province as well as overcrowding in hospitals is an area of significant interest, and one which all the opposition party leaders—Liberal Bonnie Crombie, NDP Marit Stiles and Green Mike Schreiner—could zing Premier Doug Ford of the Conservatives.
The facts are as obvious as they are concerning for all Ontarians, from seniors to those just beginning to vote. The expectation of having a doctor or primary care provider is under attack. Over 2.5 million Ontario residents lack access to one—and the numbers are increasing. It’s estimated that three million doctors will retire in the next few years and there is a growing fear that not enough physicians will join the province to replace those departing. If matters aren’t properly addressed, 4.4 million Ontarians may be without a doctor by 2026, according to the Ontario Medical Association (OMA).
In CARP’s Election Report Card, Premier Ford’s government has a mixed result. For vaccinations, it is rated an A-, with the following comment: “Ontario is one of the leading provinces in providing expert-recommended vaccines, including COVID-19, shingles and influenza shots, to older adults at no expense. Work remains to be done with RSV and pneumonia immunization, though, as well as publicizing awareness.” For investments in Home Care, it rates a B+, with the PC’s promise to pay for PSWs and good facilities being praised. But for Health Care Wait Times, Ford’s PCers received an F, with the evaluation that “shortage of physicians in all fields, including family doctors and geriatricians, plus the increasing demand from an aging population, have exacerbated these issues.”
According to the province’s own Financial Accountability Office, Ontario will lack 33,000 nurses and PSWs by 2028, if the government continues with its current policies. Just as upsetting is the fact that the province won’t have the $21 billion needed to support its commitments to expand hospitals, as well as long-term care and home care facilities during that period.
Premier Ford’s opponents aren’t focused on 2028. For them, the issue is now, at a time when the Ontario public faces what is called “hallway medicine,” with desperately sick individuals languishing in corridors, waiting for beds in overcrowded hospitals. Too many Ontarians—many of whom are elderly—are having to deal with huge wait times for surgery, closures in emergency rooms and advice from overly worked doctors.
So, what are the proposed policies from Ontario’s parties as the election reaches its fruition?
ONTARIO LIBERAL PARTY PLAN (LEADER: BONNIE CROMBIE)
Key promises: $3.1 billion to recruit 3,1000 new family doctors by 2029 with a guarantee that every Ontarian will have a family doctor and ending hallway medicine.
The provincial Liberals have been trounced in the past two elections and lost their official party status. Greatly reduced in financing and infrastructure, the party has voted in Bonnie Crombie, the former Mayor of Mississauga, as its leader. She is bringing a dynamism to her campaign but is clearly having to revive a moribund party.
Crombie’s Liberals have promised many things, though financing remains problematic.
They intend to open two new medical schools and expand those that already exist. The Liberals want to double medical school and residency spots for aspiring Ontario youths, and others. They want to upgrade and modernize administrative procedures so that healthcare workers can work more often with their patients. Digitizing records should allow PSWs, physicians and administrators to complete their tasks more efficiently.
The Liberals want to offer incentives to 2400 plus doctors to stay active and not take retirement while fast-tracking 1200 physicians trained internationally to work in Ontario’s medical system. They would like to attract Canadians—nurses, PSWs and doctors—from the U.S. back to the province with bonuses and guaranteed jobs. The Liberals want to deliver team-based care with evening and weekend support, integrated home care for seniors and accessible mental health care services for youths.
PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF ONTARIO (PC) PLAN (LEADER: DOUG FORD)
Key promises: $1.8 billion to create 305 new primary care teams- aiming to provide 2 million more Ontarians access to primary care within 4 years.
Premier Ford is so confident going into an election he called well over a year before required that he has instructed the Party’s candidates not to engage with the media at all. Although he admirably agreed to debate his fellow candidates, Ford still won’t engage with broadcast and print journalists. The policy statements offered by the Conservatives early in the campaign remain unmodified.
During the debates and in policy statements, the Premier has referenced Dr. Jane Philpott’s plans for medical health, which he intends to enact. Dr. Philpott, who was until recently the Dean of Health Sciences at Queen’s University and is a former Minister of Health for the Federal government as a Liberal, has stated as her goal that “100 percent of Ontarians will be attached to a family doctor or nurse practitioner working in a publicly funded team, where they [can] receive ongoing, comprehensive care.” She wants the government to allocate $235 million in 2025-2026 to establish and expand 80 additional primary care teams across the province. Her intention is to create and expand 305 primary care teams and, even more importantly, connect 300,000 people to health providers in Ontario. She, too, would like to digitize the province’s medical services.
NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY (NDP) PLAN (LEADER: MARIT STILES)
Key promises: $4.05 billion to recruit 3,500 doctors over 4 years with a guarantee that every Ontarian will have a family doctor.
The leader of the official provincial opposition to Premier Ford’s PC’s, NDP’s Marit Stiles, has been on the attack throughout the campaign. If elected, she would create a “fast-track solution” to Ontario’s health issues. In her party’s first 100 days, she would fund more family health teams, and work with primary care physicians and specialists to cut down on administrative functions so they can deal more with the sick and elderly. Stiles has a goal that everyone in Ontario would have a doctor.
Over the next three years, she pledges to hire 15,000 new nurses at a cost of $1.5 billion. Stiles wants to raise wages for community health workers while ending the province’s reliance on private for-profit nurses.
For Northern Ontario, she promises to recruit 200 family doctors and 150 specialists. Stiles intends to establish a Northern Command Centre to manage the capacity of the workforce dealing with health. She wants to double medical residency positions at NOSM (Northern Ontario School of Medicine) University and expand locum programs for Northern Ontario.
The NDP wants to improve accessibility for patients and reduce bureaucracy for health care providers. Stiles wants to introduce a centralized referral system to cut wait times when patients need to see specialists. At the same time, she wants to reduce paperwork so doctors can spend more time with patients.
Marit Stiles is also promising to open a full service hospital in Welland and restore full services to the urgent care centres in Port Colborne and Fort Erie.
GREEN PARTY OF ONTARIO PLAN (LEADER: MIKE SCHREINER)
Key promises: Ensure everyone in Ontario has access to a family doctor, nurse, or primary care provider.
Green Party provincial leader Mike Schreiner promises to link every person in Ontario to a primary care provider within the next four years. He wants to recruit 3500 doctors and increase enrollment for nursing students by 10% per year, with the goal of having an extra 2500 nurses by 2030. Schreiner would like to harmonize wages for healthcare providers across the province while legislating ten sick days and banning required illness notes for all employees.
The Greens want to work with Ottawa to implement a universal pharmacare program for affordable access to medication. Schreiner would like to increase mental healthcare providers at affordable rates for Ontarians. He wants to reopen supervised drug consumption sites in Ontario. The Greens pledge to stop healthcare privatization and shift away from relying on agency nurses in overly burdened areas of the province. The party wants to fast track credentials for trained healthcare workers so they can work in the province’s system.
The Greens are advocating for new hospitals in Huntsville and Bracebridge. They want to increase funding for rural healthcare facilities and hospitals. Schreiner promises to build 48,000 non-profit long-term care homes by 2029, and he wants to create more Indigenous-led rural and remote housing in their communities.
The Greens are also deeply committed to improving long-term care (LTC) practices in Ontario. They would require one nurse practitioner for every 120 residents in LTC facilities, with a staff consisting of at least 20% registered nurses, 25% practical nurses and 55% PSWs. Schreiner’s party wants to improve food quality, with fresh nutritious meals as well as ensuring that the staff would have training in geriatric, dementia and end-of-life care.
The Greens would remove legal barriers to cohousing and co-living, initiatives that are increasingly appealing to seniors. They would support communities in developing Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities with funding through an Age-Friendly Communities grant. The party would boost funds for not-for-profit LTC expansion.
