Friday, August 21, 2026
Ontario Investing Nearly $75 Million to Build a Strong Long-Term Care Workforce
Provincial funding will help train thousands of health-care professionals to connect residents to the quality
The Ontario government is investing nearly $75 million in programs that will train thousands of students and workers over the next three years for rewarding careers in long-term care. These investments are part of the government’s plan to protect Ontario by helping more people train, upskill and gain the skills needed to land good-paying jobs as health-care professionals in long-term care and ensure residents get the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve.
“Our government is protecting our long-term care system by adding skilled, qualified care providers to the workforce,” said Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Minister of Long-Term Care. “Ontario’s investments in training will prepare thousands of people for rewarding careers, while ensuring our long-term care home residents get skilled, professional care.”
The following four programs are receiving more than $58 million:
- $22.5 million over three years in the Bridging Education Grant in Nursing (BEGIN) program to provide tuition and other supports to help people advance their careers. The program helps personal support workers (PSWs) and registered practical nurses (RPNs) train to become RPNs and registered nurses in exchange for a work commitment following graduation. To date, the program has supported more than 1,500 participants to bridge to a nursing role and then enter the long-term care sector. The extension is expected to add 877 more nurses to the sector.
- $18 million over three years in the PSW District School Board Bursary Program to support the Ontario Association of Adult and Continuing Education School Board Administrators’ work to help 6,000 more people complete their personal support worker training.
- $3.89 million over three years in the Francophone PSW Learn and Earn Program at Collège Boréal to help existing long-term care staff train to become personal support workers without leaving their home communities. Since 2024, it has helped 65 French-speaking long-term care home staff become qualified personal support workers, and will now train up to 120 more.
- $13.8 million over two years to support personal support worker, practical nursing, and pre-health education programs at eight Indigenous Institutes. The funding will create opportunities for more students to graduate from PSW and practical nursing programs with a strong sense of cultural competency that can be applied to caring for Indigenous residents both within Indigenous communities and across the province.
The province is also providing up to $15.5 million in base funding under the Supporting Professional Growth Fund in 2026-27. Eligible long-term care homes use this funding for the ongoing education and training of staff who work directly with residents. Homes can apply the funding to learner costs such as course fees, backfilling of staff undergoing training, and coverage for eligible staff who deliver in-house staff training. Since 2022, the fund has helped over 143,000 staff advance their careers.
The government is fixing long-term care to ensure Ontario’s long-term care residents get the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve. Ontario’s plan to improve long-term care is built on four pillars: staffing and care; quality and enforcement; building modern, safe, and comfortable homes; and connecting seniors with faster, more convenient access to the services they need.
Quick Facts:
- The BEGIN program is delivered by the Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (WeRPN).
- Collège Boréal currently has partnerships with over 30 long-term care homes across the province; eight of these homes are French-designated.
- Seniors — people age 65 and older — make up the fastest growing age group in the province.
- Ontario is offering incentives to eligible PSWs to launch careers in long-term care homes and in the home and community care sector.
- As part of its plan to fix long-term care and address waitlists, the government is building 58,000 new and upgraded long-term care beds across the province.
Quotes:
"Ontario’s world-class postsecondary institutions are experts in training the health-care workforce that protects and cares for our loved ones when they need it most. By investing in these training programs, we are bringing more dedicated personal support workers, registered practical nurses, and nurses to long-term care homes across Ontario."
- Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security
"Collège Boréal is grateful to the Ontario government for this meaningful investment in personal support worker training. With this substantial funding, Boréal will be able to strengthen the skills of a workforce that is essential to serving the most vulnerable and necessary for the well-being of Ontario society as a whole."
- Daniel Giroux, President, Collège Boréal
"A strong long-term care workforce is essential to the quality of life and care of residents. Today's announcement demonstrates the government’s continued commitment to supporting the recruitment and retention of staff and is to be commended. The investment will also provide much-needed support for Francophone and Indigenous communities."
- Lisa Levin, CEO, AdvantAge Ontario
"WeRPN welcomes the Ontario government’s continued investment and partnership in delivering the BEGIN program, a vital stream of funding that has helped thousands of registered practical nurses (RPNs) and personal support workers (PSWs) bridge to new roles while staying committed to the sectors that need them most. By providing essential tuition and wrap-around supports to PSWs and RPNs, the program unlocks career paths and opportunities that may otherwise be unattainable. This renewed investment in the BEGIN program will assist in the continued growth of a strong nursing workforce and steady talent pipeline to ensure long-term care residents across Ontario receive the skilled, compassionate care they deserve."
- Lori Singh, CEO, Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (WeRPN)
"The province's continued investment in staffing shows a real commitment to making long-term care a place people want to live and work. These programs don't just train people, they build homegrown leadership, giving personal support workers and nurses a path to grow their careers within the same team and home they already know. Ontario's population is aging quickly, and meeting the care needs ahead will take sustained commitment to pathways like these. We thank Minister Kusendova-Bashta and the government for recognizing that workforce development is care development, and we're ready to keep building this together."
- Donna Duncan, CEO, Ontario Long Term Care Association
Additional Resources:
Media Contacts:
Joseph Ryan
Office of the Minister of Long-Term Care
Joseph.Ryan@ontario.ca
Ministry of Long-Term Care Media Line
Communications Branch
MLTC.Media@ontario.ca
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