Ontario Connecting More People to Faster Emergency Care
October 17, 2025
Investments in emergency care have reduced ambulance offload times by 65 per cent
October 9th 2025
Thunder Bay — The Ontario government is investing $19,800,237 in Thunder Bay to connect more people to emergency care faster and increase the availability of paramedics and ambulances in the community.
“I am pleased to see Superior North EMS receive an increase of just under $1 million compared to last year,” said Kevin Holland, MPP for Thunder Bay–Atikokan. “With Thunder Bay serving as the hub for many surrounding communities across a vast region, this investment will ensure that our paramedics and frontline staff have the resources they need to respond quickly and effectively in times of crisis. Our government recognizes the importance of supporting our EMS so they can continue to provide life-saving care when and where it is needed most.”
In Thunder Bay, Ontario, land ambulance funding by 4% per cent, bringing the province’s total investment in the region to $19,800,237 this year. This increase in base funding helps ensure municipalities address increased costs so they can continue to deliver high-quality emergency care. This investment is part of the almost $1 billion in land ambulance funding Ontario is providing municipalities across the province this year, representing an average increase of 8.7 per cent from 2024.
In addition, to further reduce delays paramedics encounter when dropping patients off at a hospital, Ontario is investing $226,076 in Thunder Bay through the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program to hire more nurses and other eligible health professionals dedicated to offloading ambulance patients in hospital emergency departments.
“Superior North EMS is grateful for the increased provincial funding that will strengthen paramedic services across our communities. This vital investment, made possible by the Government of Ontario, the advocacy of MPP Kevin Holland, and the support of our partners, will directly enhance response times, expand service capacity, and improve community safety. “ said Shane Muir, Chief of Superior North EMS.” We thank our paramedics for their unwavering dedication. This is a shared success for the City of Thunder Bay and the district communities we proudly serve.”
The program allows paramedics to get back out into the community faster and respond to their next 9-1-1 call sooner and has played a significant role in reducing ambulance offload times and increasing ambulance availability for 9-1-1 patients across the province. As a result of this investment and the dedication of health-care professionals, provincial ambulance offload time has been reduced by approximately 65 per cent since its peak in October 2022.
“Our government is making record investments to protect Ontario’s health-care system and connect people to the care they need, when they need it,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Through these additional investments, we are providing paramedics and emergency departments with the tools they need to connect more people across the province to high-quality emergency care, faster and closer to home.”
To ensure urgent patients receive critical care sooner, Ontario is also continuing to implement the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) across the province. The system helps to better prioritize and triage emergency medical calls and dispatch paramedics sooner. The province has expanded the use of MPDS to Mississauga, Kenora, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Renfrew, Georgian, Kingston, Lindsay, Oshawa and Timmins and is accelerating progress to implement the system at the 10 remaining Central Ambulance Communication Centres across Ontario over a year ahead of schedule.
Through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government continues to take bold and decisive action to protect the province’s health-care system and ensure people and their families have access to high-quality care closer to home for generations to come.
QUOTES
“ I would like to thank the Province for their support and funding increase to this vital service based in Thunder Bay serving the entire region. This increase to the E.M.S. budget will ensure improvements to life saving emergency care by Paramedics and reduce off load time at our hospital” – Ken Boshcoff, Mayor of Thunder Bay
“Paramedics are vital to emergency health care in Northwestern Ontario, when every second counts “Our Hospital is pleased to see this investment in funding and proud to collaborate with our partners to support and streamline high quality emergency care to patients and families throughout the region.”- Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, President and CEO, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, and CEO at Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute.
QUICK FACTS
- The government’s additional investments into the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program over three years will help municipalities cover around 800,000 dedicated hours to support offloading ambulance patients in the emergency department.
- Currently over 300 patient care models led by paramedic services across the province are now approved to provide appropriate and timely care options for eligible 9-1-1 patients in the community, instead of in the emergency department.
- To help increase the number of paramedics in the province, the expanded Ontario Learn and Stay Grant provides students studying in the first year of a paramedic program at select post-secondary institutions with funding for free tuition, books, compulsory fees and other direct educational costs. After graduating, students will be required to work in the same region they studied in, for a minimum of six months for every full year of study funded by the grant.
- The Ontario government has helped more students who want to become a paramedic in Ontario by adding more than 300 student spaces in paramedic programs at provincial colleges across Ontario.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES