Ontario’s Health Care Privatization Nightmare
Ford’s For-Profit Push: Billions Diverted, Waits Persist, Equity Eroded
Ontario’s health care system is undergoing a dangerous privatization push under Premier Doug Ford, transforming a universal public cornerstone into a profit-driven, inequitable mess. Since 2018, billions in public funds have been redirected to for-profit entities, leaving hospitals in crisis.
Public hospitals face massive deficits, with an $800 million cumulative shortfall reported in early 2025. Spending on costly private staffing agencies exploded by 98% per capita from 2013-2023, while hospital staff funding rose just 6%. Meanwhile, funding for private clinics surged over 200% in recent years, including $280 million allocated in 2025 for orthopedic surgeries and diagnostics in for-profit facilities—despite over 900 such clinics already operating.
This hasn’t fixed wait times. The Fraser Institute’s 2025 report shows Canada’s median wait from GP referral to treatment at 28.6 weeks (second-longest ever recorded, 208% longer than in 1993). Ontario fares “best” provincially at 19.2 weeks, but privatization poaches staff and resources, worsening public-sector delays and creating a two-tier system where wealth buys faster access.
Public opposition is overwhelming: Polls show 73-78% of Ontarians want government funds prioritized for public hospitals over private clinics; 67% deem charging for essential services in private facilities unacceptable; and 84% believe public hospitals are severely understaffed. Yet Ford presses on, risking U.S.-style disparities.
The Well Health Clinic network exemplifies this corporate takeover. Expanding aggressively in Ontario—adding 11 clinics since February 2025 and operating hundreds nationwide—Well reported record growth: over 1.7 million patient visits in Q2 and Q3 2025 (up 21% and 19% YoY), with Canadian revenue hitting $110 million+ in Q3. It filled 25,000+ new primary care openings toward a 45,000 target, boasting 24% organic growth.
But this “success” is predatory: Well cherry-picks low-risk, profitable cases with higher doctor pay, offloading complex patients to overburdened public hospitals and fragmenting care through virtual/in-person models that risk misdiagnoses from incomplete records. Fee-based extras (non-OHIP services) create conflicts, overutilization, and privacy threats from data commercialization.
Privatization costs more (2-3x in some cases), delivers worse outcomes, and erodes equity—especially for vulnerable communities. Ford’s agenda betrays Medicare’s promise, turning health care into a commodity. Without reversal, Ontario faces deeper crises, longer suffering, and irreversible inequality.
