Hospital Finances
IJB reporters compiled three years’ worth of financial statements from 129 publicly funded hospital corporations, some of which run multiple hospitals. The analysis found 77 had not balanced their books by the end of March 2025. Fifty-two logged an annual operating deficit for three consecutive years.
Financial pressure inside hospitals is causing clawbacks in patient services, such as temporarily closing emergency rooms, shuttering clinics, cutting back diagnostic imaging hours, laying off nurses, pressuring doctors to discharge patients earlier, and replacing registered nurses with cheaper aides, according to some hospital executives interviewed by the IJB.
Database: Ontario Hospital Finance Explorer
By searching the name of their local hospital, readers can review metrics such as annual operating deficit or surplus past three fiscal years, amount borrowed from a chartered bank and one-time government funding.
Check your Hospital
Why Ontario hospitals are turning to bank loans to stay afloat
More than half a billion dollars were logged by hospitals in annual operating deficits by the end of March, 2025, despite an Ontario law requiring hospitals to plan for a balanced budget each year. As of March 2025, Ontario hospitals owed banks more than $66 million.
Read the Story
IJB Gets Action: Ontario NDP demands changes to hospital funding model after IJB investigation
Ontario’s NDP party is demanding urgent changes to hospital funding based on new data published by the Investigative Journalism Bureau.
Read the Story
VIDEO: Inside the IJB investigation into the finances of Ontario hospitals
Ontario hospitals are relying on banks to stay afloat
Watch the Video