The number of Ontario long-term care homes needing emergency government bailouts to stay open has climbed over the past five years, according to data obtained through a freedom-of-information request and reported by Global News on Wednesday.
The money comes from a provincial program known as the exceptional circumstance fund, administered through Ontario Health, which makes one-time emergency payments to care homes facing what the province calls acute or unforeseen financial challenges that threaten their operations or resident care, Global News reported, citing internal government documents.
Ontario paid $2.4 million to four homes through the fund in 2021-22, the data showed. That figure rose to $9.7 million in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, with the latter year’s money going to four non-profit homes. Payouts peaked at $17.2 million spread across six homes in 2024-25, the highest total of the five years reviewed, before falling to $10.9 million for four non-profit homes in 2025-26, according to the figures Global News obtained. The single largest bailout in any year ranged from $1.3 million in 2021-22 up to $7 million in 2024-25, the outlet reported. For-profit homes received roughly $2.2 million in total support over the full five-year span, far less than their non-profit counterparts, the data showed.
Laura Tamblyn Watts, chief executive of the seniors’ advocacy group CanAge, told Global News the growth in bailout payments is “clearly a red flag for many people,” saying it points to care homes struggling to cover basic operating costs without emergency government intervention.
Ontario’s Ministry of Long-Term Care did not dispute the figures but pointed to broader spending increases when Global News sought comment, saying it has made record investments in the sector this year, including $9 billion allocated to long-term care and $139.4 million in additional Level of Care funding meant to improve staffing and resident services.
AdvantAge Ontario, which represents non-profit long-term care operators, was also cited in the report as it looks into why non-profit homes account for most of the exceptional circumstance payouts despite generally receiving less public funding per bed than some for-profit operators, Global News said.
Emergency bailouts are meant to be a last resort for homes on the brink of financial collapse, not a routine funding source, and both years with the sharpest payout totals, 2024-25 and 2025-26, came after Ontario had already promised what it describes as record long-term care spending, a gap CanAge says deserves closer scrutiny.
Neither Global News’ report nor the ministry’s comments to the outlet indicated whether the exceptional circumstance program itself is under review. Global News said it obtained the five-year figures through a freedom-of-information request rather than through a routine government disclosure, and that the ministry did not directly address why non-profit homes have drawn a disproportionate share of the emergency payments.
