Protecting Ontario’s economy allows the government to continue to invest in health care, education, and other critical services. Against a backdrop of threats against Ontario’s economy, which also threatens the world-class health care system Ontario families depend on, the government is continuing to invest in better delivery of services.
Ontario is putting people, communities and businesses first and ensuring that they will continue to thrive.
Advancing Ontario’s Primary Care Action Plan
Ontario continues to lead the country with unprecedented investments and rapid action to strengthen its primary care system. As part of Ontario’s $2.1 billion Primary Care Action Plan, the government has implemented a broad series of initiatives with the goal of connecting every person in Ontario to convenient ongoing primary care by 2029, including:
- Creating and expanding over 130 primary care teams through a $235 million investment in 2025–26 to connect over 300,000 people in Ontario to ongoing primary care clinicians, some of whom have already begun accepting new patients.
- Investing $300 million over four years to build up to 17 new and expanded community-based primary care teaching clinics that will combine direct patient care with hands-on learning for primary care learners, allowing up to 300,000 more people to be connected to ongoing primary care.
- Investing more than $250 million to launch the next call for proposals to create and expand approximately 75 additional primary care teams that will connect 500,000 more people to a primary care clinician.
The province committed to connecting the 235,000 people that were on the Health Care Connect waitlist as of January 1, 2025, to a family doctor or primary care team by spring 2026. This waitlist has been reduced by half, with the province on track to hit its initial commitment next spring.
These investments are building a comprehensive primary care system that is convenient and connected — one that will ensure that every person in Ontario has access to high-quality care, closer to home.
Training and Retaining Health Care Providers Across Ontario
The government is building a stronger and more resilient health care workforce throughout the province. Through the Ontario Learn and Stay Grant (OLSG), the government is supporting students with funding to cover the cost of tuition, books, and other direct educational expenses for eligible health-related programs.
Through the OLSG, the government is increasing the number of nurses, paramedics, and medical laboratory technologists in underserved and growing communities in Northern, Southwestern, and Eastern Ontario. Eligible students commit to working in the communities where they studied for a term of service after graduation. The government is continuing to invest in the program with an additional $261.7 million over three years. Since its launch in 2023–24, the OLSG has provided over $96 million in support to more than 8,200 students.
The government is continuing efforts to ensure more Ontario-trained doctors practise family medicine here at home in the communities that need them. As announced in the 2025 Ontario Budget, the government is investing $159.6 million over three years, beginning in 2026–27, to expand the OLSG to four cohorts of medical school students. The grant will cover direct educational costs, including tuition and fees, for those who commit to working in the community for a term as family physicians after completing residency anywhere in the province. In addition, the government is creating more opportunities for Ontario residents who started their medical education abroad to be able to complete their postgraduate training in Ontario.
Investing in Home and Community Care
Home and community care is a foundational part of Ontario’s health system, helping ensure people receive the right care in the right place. This is why the government is investing more than $1.1 billion over three years to support an 8 per cent increase in home care volumes in 2025–26 and to support the expansion and sustainability of the Hospital to Home (H2H) program. These investments are delivering real measurable improvements, including more consistency of care for patients, and a 94 per cent reduction in waitlisted patients for personal support services from 2022–23 to 2024–25. This investment also seeks to reduce the number of patients awaiting discharge to more appropriate care settings.
Enhancing Capacity for Services
As part of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the government is focused on improving health care by expanding access to more convenient care options closer to home, reducing wait times for key services, and growing the health care workforce to meet future needs. The government’s investments have increased home care services by 18 per cent over the past two years. The government is investing more than $982 million over three years to maintain and strengthen critical home care services. This investment will help ensure the system can continue to support more patients with increasingly complex needs, deliver high-quality care at home, and reduce pressures that hospitals are facing across the province.
Strengthening the Hospital to Home Program
As part of Ontario’s commitment to transforming the home care system, the government has committed $3 billion over the last four years to stabilize the sector’s workforce and further expand services. Building on its commitment, the government is investing more than $170 million over three years to enhance and expand the H2H program. This program supports patients on their transition from hospital to home and has served about 7,900 patients in 2024–25.
With this funding, services will be maintained across the existing sites, and up to 18 new sites will be developed to enable the program to serve approximately 3,240 more patients beginning in 2025–26. Through this investment, more people in Ontario will receive safe, high-quality care at home, easing pressure on hospitals and emergency departments.
Investing in Hospital and Health Infrastructure
The government is investing approximately $56 billion over the next decade in health infrastructure, including over $43 billion in capital grants. This ambitious plan will support over 50 hospital projects and deliver approximately 3,000 new hospital beds to enhance access to quality care and build a connected, people-first health care system. See Table 1.2 for recent milestones.
Table 1.2
Investing in Hospital and Health Infrastructure
Northern
- Timmins and District Hospital — New Emergency Department: The project will renovate and add over 27,000 square feet to the existing emergency department, expanding the new emergency department to up to four times its current size, better servicing families and patients in Northeastern Ontario.
- Lake of the Woods District Hospital — Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Suite: In September 2025, the project became operational, providing ease of access to MRI services for residents and surrounding communities.
- Centre de santé communautaire de Timmins — New Build: Construction was completed in October 2025. This newly created Francophone community health centre will provide and consolidate a full scope of community health programming, including primary care, health promotion and disease prevention, and medical student education.
Eastern
- Pembroke Regional Hospital — Surgical Services and Central Sterile Reprocessing: Construction was completed in July 2025, increasing the operational capacity and providing timely access to vital surgical services.
- St. Francis Memorial Hospital — Emergency Department Redevelopment: Construction began in March 2025 and is expected to be completed in March 2027. This project will expand, redesign, and improve emergency services for the community of Barry’s Bay.
- The Ottawa Hospital — Civic Campus Redevelopment: The new hospital will have an increased number of single patient rooms and the most advanced trauma centre in Eastern Ontario and will provide highly specialized emergency and trauma services to treat complex injuries and illnesses.
Southwestern
- Hamilton Health Sciences — West Lincoln Memorial Hospital Redevelopment: Construction was completed in September 2025. The project included building a new hospital on the property behind the existing facility to provide inpatient and outpatient services at an 80 per cent larger footprint than the current facility.
- New Windsor‐Essex Regional Hospital: The project will support a new state‐of‐the‐art acute care hospital in Windsor and Essex County to add more hospital beds and expand services in the region.
Central
- Trillium Health Partners — Redevelopment Project at the Mississauga Hospital Site: The construction contract was awarded in July 2025, and once completed, the 2.8-million-square‑foot project will triple the size of the existing hospital and support over 950 beds in a state-of‑the-art, 22-storey patient care tower.
- Anishnawbe Health Toronto (AHT) — New Indigenous Community Health Centre: This new facility opened in June 2025, consolidating AHT’s programs onto a single site and improving clients’ access to services that reflect Indigenous spirituality, customs and traditions.
- Brock Community Health Centre — New Build: The 19,000-square-foot community health centre facility was completed in April 2025 and is operational. The facility will increase access to primary care services and programs, as well as serve as a hub for health care organizations and service providers.
- Scarborough Health Network — General Site Diagnostic Imaging Department: In February 2025, the new 36,000-square-foot diagnostic imaging department opened, providing patients with greater diagnostic imaging service access and capacity.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Health.
Increasing Regional Capacity at Halton Healthcare Services
Building on its commitments to health infrastructure, the government is providing additional regional support through investments at Halton Healthcare Services to ensure people of all ages can connect to the care they need, where and when they need it. This investment will provide up to 123 beds within the next 18 to 24 months through renovation of existing space in the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital and Milton District Hospital to serve as a regional hub.
Expanding Diabetes Services in Durham Region
The Ontario government is expanding access to diabetes care in Durham Region by renovating and expanding the Charles H. Best Diabetes Centre in Whitby. This investment will help meet growing demand in Durham Region and will improve the quality of care for individuals and families living with Type 1 diabetes. The upgraded facility will feature more clinical space, private counselling rooms, and child-friendly areas, enabling the centre to serve more patients and deliver enhanced care in a welcoming environment. By increasing access to diabetes services, the government is helping reduce the risk of serious health complications and easing pressure on the broader health system.
Connecting More Families to Fertility Supports
The government is taking action to connect more families to fertility treatments by investing $250 million over three years, starting in 2025–26, to expand access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) under the Ontario Fertility Program (OFP). As part of the government’s plan to improve public services, the funding will support 25 new and expanded clinics, helping to triple the number of families who can benefit from publicly funded fertility treatment. In addition, the government has introduced a new refundable Ontario Fertility Treatment Tax Credit starting for the 2025 tax year.
The credit covers 25 per cent of eligible fertility treatment expenses up to $20,000, for a maximum credit of $5,000 per year. This tax credit builds on Ontario’s existing medical expense tax credit and offers financial relief for costs of goods and services provided entirely in Canada, including IVF, fertility medications, travel for treatment, and diagnostic testing.
Expanding Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs
The government is protecting the safety of children and families while improving access to recovery and treatment services. The Ontario legislature passed the Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act, 2024 and the Community Care and Recovery Act, 2024. The government approved the transition of nine drug injection sites that are located within 200 metres of schools and licensed child care centres into Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs. As of April 1, 2025, the nine drug injection sites, located in Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener, Guelph, and Thunder Bay, were successfully transitioned and started operating as HART Hubs. Building on supports provided in 2024–25, this brings the government’s total investment to almost $550 million over four years to support 28 HART Hubs across the province.
HART Hubs reflect regional priorities by connecting people with complex needs to comprehensive treatment and preventative services. These include a range of services to meet local needs such as primary care, mental health services, addictions care and support, social services, and employment supports. HART Hubs will support treatment and recovery for thousands of people each year and add almost 900 supportive housing units to transition hundreds of people at risk of homelessness to more stable long-term supportive housing.
Through the 2025 Ontario Budget, the government also invested more than $303 million over three years to stabilize the community-based mental health and addictions services sector. This commitment will provide a 4 per cent increase in the sector’s base funding to support community-led and delivered mental health programs.
Investing in Long-Term Care Homes
The government continues to make progress towards its commitment to build 58,000 new and upgraded beds to modern design standards across the province by 2028. As of October 2025, 148 long-term care homes are either open, under construction, or are approved to start construction. This includes:
- 44 homes completed, representing 2,871 new beds and 3,791 beds upgraded to modern design standards; and
- 104 homes under construction or approved to start construction, representing 10,305 new beds and 7,134 beds being upgraded to modern design standards.
The government has launched a new construction funding support program to ensure long-term care operators and builders have additional flexibility and support to continue Ontario’s historical level of construction. The 2025 Long-Term Care Home Capital Funding Program builds on previous time-limited supplemental funding increases to stimulate and sustain more construction starts of long-term care homes across Ontario. In total, the government enabled 104 long-term care homes to start construction between April 2022 and October 2025.
In addition, Ontario is bringing new tools to the long-term care sector to support financing the development of long-term care beds for projects with the support of the Building Ontario Fund. This includes financing support for the Rekai Centres at Cherry Place and four homes through Arch Corporation in Amherstburg, Lancaster, Prescott, and Tay Valley Township, resulting in close to 1,000 beds being redeveloped or added.
Supporting the Ontario Autism Program
As announced in the 2025 Ontario Budget, the government is increasing funding for the Ontario Autism Program by $175 million in 2025–26, bringing this year’s total funding to $779 million. The additional funding will help more children access core clinical services and further boost sector capacity, building on the work the government has done to support families of children and youth on the autism spectrum.
The Ontario Autism Program provides children and youth with access to supports such as applied behaviour analysis therapy, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, mental health services, and equipment.
Investing in Schools and Child Care Spaces
The government is continuing to ensure growing communities are provided with modern learning spaces to help students achieve success. As announced in the 2025 Ontario Budget, Ontario is investing over $30 billion over the next 10 years, including approximately $23 billion in capital grants, to build new and redeveloped schools and child care spaces. This includes working closely with school boards to ensure infrastructure investments meet the needs of local communities and deliver value for Ontario taxpayers.
This investment includes approximately $2 billion for the 2025–26 school year to repair and maintain schools, which will support safe, healthy, accessible and supportive learning environments.
For the 2025–26 school year, 41 new schools and additions have opened, creating over 17,700 student spaces, including five French-language school projects.
Table 1.3
School Projects Opening for the 2025–26 School Year
Northern
- An addition to H.M. Robbins Public Elementary School in Sault Ste. Marie, with 26 more student spaces and 64 more licensed child care spaces.
- École élémentaire catholique Notre-Place in Sudbury, which serves 567 students and includes 88 licensed child care spaces.
Eastern
- An addition to École élémentaire catholique Saint-Viateur in Limoges, with 115 more student spaces.
- École élémentaire publique Des Visionnaires in Ottawa, which serves 475 students and includes 49 licensed child care spaces.
- Riverside South Public Secondary School in Ottawa, which serves 1,516 students and includes 39 licensed child care spaces.
- An addition to Murray Centennial Public Elementary School in Trenton, with 170 more student spaces.
Southwestern
- A new joint Catholic and public elementary school in Caledonia, which serves 746 students and includes 49 licensed child care spaces.
- An addition to Errol Village Public Elementary School in Camlachie, with 46 more student spaces and 49 more licensed child care spaces.
- Grand River Public School in Fergus, which serves 328 students.
- St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School in Kitchener, which serves 527 students and includes 88 licensed child care spaces.
- Northwest Public Elementary School in London, which serves 802 students and includes 88 licensed child care spaces.
- Thundering Heights Elementary School in Niagara Falls, which serves 608 students and includes 49 licensed child care spaces.
Central
- Dr. G.W. Williams Secondary School in Aurora, which serves 1,212 students.
- Red Cedar Public School in Brampton, which serves 850 students and includes 73 licensed child care spaces.
- Horseshoe Heights Public School in Oro-Medonte, which serves 570 students.
- Josiah Henson Public School in Pickering, which serves 634 students and includes 73 licensed child care spaces.
- Spring Lakes Public School in Stouffville, which serves 638 students.
- Bloor Collegiate Institute in Toronto, which serves 924 students.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Education.
Table 1.4
Continuing to Get Shovels in the Ground to Build More Schools
Northern
- A new joint French and English junior kindergarten to Grade 12 public school in Blind River, which will serve 72 French-language students, 381 English-language students and include 64 licensed child care spaces.
- A new English public elementary and secondary school in Rainy River, which will serve 311 students and include 39 licensed child care spaces.
- A new English public elementary school in Savant Lake, which will serve 95 students.
Eastern
- An addition to Notre Dame Catholic High School in Carleton Place, with 230 student spaces.
- An addition to Monsignor J.J. O’Neill Catholic School in Greater Napanee, with 331 student spaces and 49 licensed child care spaces.
- A new English Catholic elementary school in Loyalist, which will serve 518 students and include 49 licensed child care spaces.
- A new French public elementary school in Ottawa, which will serve 475 students and include 49 licensed child care spaces.
Southwestern
- A new English joint public and Catholic elementary school in Cambridge, which will serve 873 students and include 72 licensed child care spaces.
- A new French public elementary school in Hamilton, which will serve 271 students and include 49 licensed child care spaces.
- A new English Catholic secondary school in Kitchener, which will serve 1,400 students.
- A new English public elementary school in Woodstock, which will serve 856 students and include 88 licensed child care spaces.
Central
- A new English public elementary school in East Gwillimbury, which will serve 638 students and include 48 licensed child care spaces.
- A new English public secondary school in Oshawa, which will serve 1,387 students.
- A new English Catholic secondary school in Toronto, which will serve 1,300 students.
- A new English Catholic elementary school in Toronto, which will serve 600 students and include 88 licensed child care spaces.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Education.
Preferred Provider Networks
Providing Affordable Access to Care Through Any Willing Provider Legislation
Following the 2025 Ontario Budget, the government has consulted broadly on policy options for Preferred Provider Networks (PPNs) in employer-sponsored drug benefit plans to enable plan members to access affordable medications and the quality of care that they need.
Building on its findings from two consultations, the government is introducing legislation that, if passed, would enable an Any Willing Provider framework, along with introducing a standardized, transparent process for patients to seek exemptions from PPNs where appropriate. The framework would enable any pharmacy willing to match a PPN’s financial terms to join, enabling expanded consumer choice and competition in the pharmacy sector, while maintaining cost-effective access to medications.
The government will continue to collaborate closely with all stakeholders and regulators on the implementation of the legislation.
Public Services Delivered More Efficiently
The public expects its services to be efficient, effective and relevant. Delivering on the government’s plan requires government operations to become increasingly responsive, agile and focused on outcomes that benefit people and businesses.
The Ontario Public Service (OPS) has a track record of transforming operations to drive excellence through lean practices and initiatives to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and red tape. There are opportunities to further innovate to set the foundation for long-term stability, resilience and prosperity.
Ensuring the efficient delivery of public services is also an important component of the government’s plan to manage the province’s finances in a fiscally responsible and prudent manner. Overall, this approach will ensure the government is able to continue to invest in the priorities of the people of Ontario, by improving services and making life more affordable, and making Ontario the most competitive place in the G7 to invest, create jobs, and do business.
Containing Costs and Improving Service Delivery by Implementing Modern Solutions
The OPS is exploring and applying new ways to responsibly harness technology and modern solutions, including artificial intelligence, to improve efficiency and consistency in service delivery. This will help to save time, streamline government operations, and make the best use of resources. Ultimately, key public services will involve fewer steps that take less time for businesses and the public.
The government is already moving forward with multiple, large-scale initiatives that will make the work of government more effective and efficient as it strives to protect Ontario. Examples include:
- Conservation Authorities Effectiveness: Enhancing the effectiveness of conservation authorities, which will speed up critical infrastructure and housing development while safeguarding the environment.
- Permitting Process Reform: The One Project, One Process approach will get shovels in the ground faster by establishing dedicated project management support for designated projects to coordinate the application, review, Indigenous consultation and decision-making processes for mining projects.
- “Leaning Out” Capital Approvals for government projects.
By embracing positive change and continuing to improve how Ontario delivers services, the government will moderate the growth of the public service while strengthening its ability to serve and protect communities across the province.
Improving Service Delivery by Empowering Ontario Public Service Staff
Building on the successful implementation of Lean Methodology, the government is implementing a new effort to crowdsource ideas from frontline public servants, which will provide a continuous stream of opportunities to improve services by removing duplication and needless steps, ensuring that resources are targeted and reinvested into the priorities that matter most. The ideas generated by these public servants, who live and work in communities across the province, will help create positive change and improve how public services are delivered.
By empowering frontline employees to provide advice that could help redesign and reimagine how government works, the foundation is being laid for a public service that is future-ready, resilient, and relentlessly focused on delivering better outcomes for the people of Ontario.
Modernizing Ontario’s Alcohol Marketplace
The Ontario government has delivered on its commitment to increase choice and convenience for Ontario consumers through the largest expansion of Ontario’s alcohol marketplace since the end of Prohibition, almost 100 years ago.
Today, customers across Ontario can shop in over 6,300 licensed convenience and grocery stores, providing Ontario’s beverage alcohol producers with new opportunities to expand their product offering and allowing consumers to shop more conveniently.
Beginning in 2026, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) will become the exclusive wholesaler for all retailers, bars and restaurants selling alcohol. The LCBO will also continue to offer its retail consumers a wide array of domestic and imported products.
A new alcohol wholesale pricing model will be in place in 2026. This will help streamline and simplify the wholesale pricing system providing a level playing field for all market participants, which will help foster a more dynamic, vibrant and competitive alcohol marketplace.
As part of the effort to facilitate an open marketplace that maximizes opportunities for choice and competition, the government has directed the LCBO to develop a fully open listing process for domestic and imported products that enables retailers and producers to bring new products to the market in a timely manner. The process will allow these products full access to the LCBO’s retail catalogue and will be implemented by July 1, 2026.
The government has also directed the LCBO to review all distribution policies to help foster a more efficient marketplace. This includes exploring changes to the distribution framework to enable retailers to leverage more third-party distributors to deliver alcohol in more efficient ways. This would allow Ontario businesses to benefit from a more dynamic and responsive distribution system — one that better aligns with the needs of businesses in the marketplace and more effectively meets evolving consumer demand.
In addition, the government is working on enhancing the LCBO Direct Delivery Program for producers of 100 per cent Ontario non-VQA wine, helping Ontario’s wine industry to grow and thrive in the new marketplace. The government will also consider if enhancements could be extended to other alcohol product categories.
As stated in the 2025 Ontario Budget, the government continues to explore a progressive alcohol tax and mark-up system and remains committed to continuing to promote and prioritize small producers, including Ontario-made products.
Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Franco–Ontarian Flag
For 50 years, the Franco–Ontarian flag has flown as a proud symbol of identity, resilience, and cultural vitality across the province. As announced in September 2025, Ontario is proud to celebrate this milestone with the Francophone community and invest an additional $1 million this year. The funding will support events that recognize the unique contribution of Francophones to Ontario and promote their cultural and economic growth.
Ontario will continue to support initiatives that enable access to high-quality French-language services, foster economic development, and promote the language and culture both at home and abroad. This includes modernizing the delivery of French-language health services, investments in Francophone entrepreneurship and efforts to strengthen partnerships with other Francophone jurisdictions.
Expanding French-Language Postsecondary Education in the North
As announced in July 2025, the Ontario government is investing $10.8 million to re-launch French‑language courses at the Université de Sudbury, in partnership with the University of Ottawa. This investment will expand access to high-quality French-language postsecondary education in Northern Ontario, helping more Francophone students acquire the skills they need for good-paying, in-demand jobs and meeting the needs of Ontario’s workforce. At its Sudbury campus, the Université de Sudbury will offer programs in health sciences, management and commerce, social sciences, and arts in partnership with the University of Ottawa.