My aunt’s work bag has had the same worn-out sticker for years: “Nurses are the Heart of Healthcare.” It reflects the countless hours, emotional labour, and personal sacrifices she has made for others. Having been a nurse in the emergency department at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital for more than 20 years, my aunt’s stories of hope and healing have gradually shifted into accounts of exhaustion, fear, and systemic failure, along with pleas for increased pay, better recognition, and more staffing.
On Jan. 25, 2020, Canada reported its first COVID-19 case at Sunnybrook. At the time, my aunt described the chaos of short-staffed units, the emotional exhaustion, and the feeling of being treated as disposable by a system that applauded nurses on TV while ignoring the realities inside hospital walls. “People thanked me and would say, ‘not all heroes wear capes,’” she recalls. “They called us heroes, but they never treated us like human beings.” When the pandemic began, nurses were praised as heroes. Politicians called them “the backbone of our health system,” and the public showered them with gratitude. But applause does not pay bills, and tangible support remains limited.
Although the COVID-19 public health emergency has ended, the scars remain. As of December 2025, my aunt still works overtime nearly every week. COVID-19 had a significant effect on healthcare systems worldwide, but it did not create Ontario’s nursing crisis — it exposed it.
In 2019, the Ford government enacted Bill 124, a wage-suppression law that limited salary increases for nurses and other public-sector workers to one per cent each year during their three-year moderation periods. Nurses, refusing to remain silent, spoke out through media interviews, lobbying efforts, and consultations. The limit was challenged in court, and in February 2024, Ontario announced that it would not appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision and would repeal the legislation. Though their persistence contributed to the repeal of Bill 124, the effects of years of wage suppression continue to be felt through continued exhaustion and a sense of undervalued work.
Having reached a dangerous tipping point, the nursing crisis in Ontario extends beyond a workplace problem and should be viewed as a public health emergency. Long before COVID-19, 83 per cent of nurses reported that staffing levels were too low to meet the needs of their patients, according to the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions. According to the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA), Ontario had 651 registered nurses per 100,000 people based on 2023 CIHI data, the lowest rate among Canadian provinces.
As ONA President Erin Ariss said, “Ontario’s registered nurse staffing ratio is dead last in the country, and we are falling further behind with every year that passes.” She further states, “For every nurse that joins the workforce, we hear of many more who are leaving or planning to leave because they are struggling to provide the care patients need.” Ariss’ statement reflects a harsh reality: the system is failing both nurses and the people who rely on them.
On Jan. 2, 2024, a major study using the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory was conducted, revealing that nearly 79 per cent of participating nurses met the criteria for burnout post-pandemic. Our current state of longer wait times, increased medical errors, and closed hospital units is only the beginning of what may become a feedback loop. From July 2022 to the end of 2024, Ontario saw the closure of 146 hospital departments in 2022, 184 in 2023, and 53 in 2024. These closures ripple across the system, raising healthcare costs, compounding burnout, and causing preventable patient harm — outcomes that are entirely avoidable with proper support for nurses.
Nurses deserve more from us than praise alone. They deserve rights, safety, and fair compensation for the emotional and physical labour they provide every single day. My aunt once remarked that “people think [nurses] only give medication, but we give pieces of ourselves every day.” I stand for implementing safe nurse-to-patient ratios, raising wages, and better working conditions to keep nurses in the system and reduce burnout. I urge readers to support nurse-led organizations, sign petitions, and attend protests or rallies. To the government, you must start by prioritizing proper funding, enforcing safe staffing regulations, and ensuring nurses’ voices are included in policymaking.
This issue is not just affecting nurses, but future generations. For many years to come, the quality, accessibility, and sustainability of healthcare in Canada will depend on the decisions we make now. If the heart and backbone of healthcare give out, so does our system, putting the health of Canadians at risk. Nurses have long cared for us; it’s time that we speak up and do the same for them.
