FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 7, 2025
QUEEN’S PARK — Today, MPP Lee Fairclough, Ontario Liberal Critic for Hospitals, issued a statement in response to the Ford government’s Fall Economic Statement, noting its continued failure to prioritize healthcare and the growing strain on Ontario’s hospitals.
As someone who has spent much of my career working in Ontario’s hospitals, I know how close to the breaking point our healthcare system is — and today’s Fall Economic Statement does nothing to ease that strain.
Hospitals across the province are under extraordinary pressure. The Financial Accountability Office has already confirmed that Ontario’s healthcare system is being underfunded by $3.4 billion this year, with hospitals alone projected to face a $1-billion shortfall next year.
The 2025 Ontario Health budget does not keep pace with the real pressures that hospitals are facing — from healthcare inflation to population growth and an aging demographic. Without action, overcrowding will worsen, wait times will grow longer, and more people will be cared for in hallways.
Ontario already spends the least per person on healthcare of any province in Canada. Our hospitals and healthcare teams are doing everything they can to stretch every dollar, but we cannot afford to continue down this path of starving our system.
This is not about a lack of resources, it is about priorities. The government could invest in care but instead has chosen not to. The money exists and is there, the will to act is not.
While patients wait for care and hospitals struggle to keep the lights on, this government keeps finding ways to help itself, funnelling public dollars to insiders instead of investing in care. If they can move fast to help their friends, they can move fast to help our hospitals.
That’s why I am are calling for an immediate $1-billion investment to stabilize hospitals, protect patient care, and make sure our healthcare system is there when people need it most.