The Ontario Nurses Association says the province continues to lag behind other provinces in terms of the number of nurses on a per capita basis.

The Association points to a Canadian Institute for Health Information report that indicates there are 661 nurses for every 100,000 people.

That is a slight drop from the 668 per 100,000 reported in 2021.

It still places Ontario last on a per capita level among all provinces.

“CIHI’s report shows that the number of RNs employed in nursing in this province increased by just one per cent in 2022, while the total population grew by more than 300,000, or two per cent,” says Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) President Erin Ariss “Meanwhile, the Ford government continues to boast about hiring more nurses, while simultaneously leaving billions of health-care funding dollars unspent. Ontarians should demand better.”

Ariss says the province now needs 24,809 additional RNs just to match the national average of 830 RNs per 100,000.

“ONA will also be pursuing minimum nurse staffing levels in the coming years,” says Ariss. “This CIHI report is a clear signal that further action is needed to restore safe RN staffing levels, especially in Ontario. Our patients deserve better.”