The alarm jolted Marianne Kenton awake at 4:30 a.m., the darkness outside her bedroom window a reminder of the grueling 12-hour shift that lay ahead. For eight years, she had maintained this punishing schedule at Willow Creek Long-Term Care Home in Burlington, Ontario. But on a frigid morning last February, something inside her finally broke.
“I sat on the edge of my bed and just couldn’t move,” recalls Kenton, 43, her voice wavering slightly during our interview. “I knew I’d be caring for 15 residents by myself again. I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
Kenton’s experience mirrors a growing crisis within Canada’s long-term care sector, where staffing shortages have reached unprecedented levels. Recent data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information reveals that residential care facilities across the country are operating with approximately 30% fewer personal support workers than required for optimal care.
“The pandemic exposed systemic vulnerabilities that have existed for decades,” explains Dr. Helena Jaczek, health policy researcher at the University of Toronto. “But what we’re witnessing now is an exodus accelerated by burnout, inadequate compensation, and increasingly difficult working conditions.”
For Kenton, the breaking point came gradually. Her facility, like many across Ontario, struggled to maintain adequate staffing ratios following the COVID-19 pandemic. Provincial data indicates that nearly 4,500 long-term care workers have left the profession since 2020, creating a vacuum that employers have struggled to fill.
“We started with four PSWs per unit when I began in 2015,” Kenton explains. “By last year, it was often just me responsible for bathing, feeding, changing, and medicating fifteen elderly residents, many with complex needs including dementia.”
The economic pressures facing the sector compound the problem. Despite Ontario’s minimum wage increase to $16.55 per hour, many PSWs earn barely above this threshold despite the physically and emotionally demanding nature of their work. Industry analysts note that competing sectors like retail and hospitality now offer comparable wages without the physical demands or emotional toll.
Sandi Johnson, spokesperson for the Canadian Union of Public Employees healthcare division, points to systemic issues beyond compensation. “Our members report dangerous working conditions, limited supplies, mandatory overtime, and growing violence from residents who aren’t receiving adequate care. The psychological impact is devastating.”
This reality is reflected in alarming statistics. WorkSafeBC reports that care workers experience injuries at nearly four times the provincial average, while a recent survey by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions found that 87% of long-term care staff reported symptoms of burnout in the past year.
The consequences extend beyond workers to residents themselves. Family members increasingly report concerning care gaps. Margaret Holloway, whose 92-year-old father resides in an Ottawa facility, describes finding him sitting in soiled clothing for hours. “The staff who remain are trying their best, but there simply aren’t enough of them,” she explains.
Provincial governments have announced various initiatives to address the crisis. Ontario recently allocated $673 million to recruit and retain PSWs, including education subsidies and temporary wage enhancements. British Columbia has implemented new staff-to-resident ratios, while Alberta launched an accelerated training program aimed at bringing 1,000 new workers into the system by year’s end.
However, critics argue these measures fail to address fundamental issues. “Quick-fix solutions won’t solve a problem rooted in how we value care work in our society,” argues Dr. Pat Armstrong, Distinguished Research Professor at York University and long-term care expert. “We need transformational change in how these jobs are structured, compensated, and supported.”
For Kenton, who now works in hospital administration, leaving long-term care was bittersweet. “I loved my residents. They became family,” she says, pausing to collect herself. “But I couldn’t provide the care they deserved under those conditions. Eventually, you have to choose your own wellbeing.”
Industry experts project the situation may worsen before it improves. Canada’s aging population is expected to increase demand for long-term care by approximately 40% over the next decade, according to Health Canada projections. Without substantial intervention, the current staffing crisis threatens to become a catastrophic failure of care.
As our aging population grows and demands for care increase, a pressing question emerges: will Canada find the political will and societal commitment to transform long-term care into a sustainable career path before the system collapses entirely?
