CUPE reports the government recently directed hospitals to plan for two per cent annual funding increases until 2027-28

By Gazette Staff

January 26th, 2026

BURLINGTON, ON

A new report warns that the turn to health care cutbacks in Ontario harken to the period of Mike Harris, as hundreds of job cuts ravage hospitals across the province, prolonging wait-times and delaying patient care.

What will wait times look like with staffing cuts?

The government recently directed hospitals to plan for two per cent annual funding increases until 2027-28 – far less than the six per cent average in recent years – precipitating job cuts at Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph’s Healthcare.

“The Ford government’s funding plan will lead to more than 10,000 job losses and reduction of 2,400 hospital beds across the province at a time when 2,000 patients are receiving “hallway healthcare” every day, says the report by the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, the hospital division of CUPE.

Driven to the brink: projected cuts to intensify hospital crisis will be released at a press conference in Hamilton at 2 p.m.

The report uses data on hospital staffing, capacity and funding from multiple official sources, and offers recommendations to address patient needs and restore lost capacity in the sector.

On Tuesday, the union will reveal the projected staffing and hospital bed cuts in Hamilton through to 2027-28, and contrast that with the number of beds required to maintain current service levels.