Ontario hospitals face $400 million deficits and $2 billion capital shortfall

A report by the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (CUPE/OCHU) warns that Ontario’s hospitals are operating with a combined deficit of more than $400 million in 2025. Working capital, the cash used for payroll and supplies, has fallen from $2 billion in 2020 to a shortfall of $280 million by the end of 2025, forcing many facilities to borrow cash to stay afloat.

The union says more than 1,300 hospital jobs have been eliminated since September 2025, while occupancy rates regularly exceed the 80 % safety threshold, reaching 96 % in some areas. Hallway patients have roughly doubled since the Ford government took office, and average lengths of stay have risen 15 %. CUPE/OCHU president Michael Hurley and researcher Doug Allan argue that hospitals need a 6 % annual budget increase just to maintain services, far above the province’s planned 3.3 % increase for 2026‑27, while costs are rising over 6 % each year.