We have seen the concerning impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our health human resources system. With an aging population, the issue of more front-line health workers will only increase in the years and decades ahead. Experts also warn that Ontario’s population will increase by as much as two million to six million over the next two decades. An increasing population will mean more individuals needing access to our health care system in the future. Getting more students into the health care profession programs today will help address the health care human resource issues we’ll see tomorrow.

Speaker, can the Minister of Colleges and Universities update this House on what our government has done to help encourage students to pursue a meaningful career in nursing programs?

Speaker, under the watch of the previous Liberal government, the people of my riding saw the lack of vision and understanding about the state of our health care system. We saw how they cut medical residency programs for new students, forcing them to move out of the province. We saw their record of championing freezing health care budgets as their goal was to keep costs down.

Once again, can the minister explain to this House what work the Ministry of Colleges and Universities is doing with other ministries to address the health human resource shortages in Ontario, and what action is our government taking to strengthen the system after the years of Liberal neglect?

Thank you to the member from Markham–Thornhill for that question. I, too, was encouraged to see the reports that applicants to nursing programs are up in both college and university programs by 25% since the 2018-19 school year. Speaker, that translates to more than 13,000 students who applied to a university program and more than 12,000 students who applied to a college program right here in Ontario.

Our government has been working hard to address the gap in health care professions through innovative programs like our three-year college degrees and our new Learn and Stay program. Over the next four years, the Learn and Stay program will help over 3,000 nursing graduates receive financial support to cover the cost of tuition in exchange for committing to practise for two years in an underserved community.

We have created 14 new programs at colleges and universities across Ontario, allowing thousands of students to have greater choice and flexibility in accessing high-quality and local education.

This record number of applications demonstrates that the work we are doing to increase the number of students entering nursing and health care professions is working, and we’ll continue to look for innovative ways.

Through the Bridging Educational Grant in Nursing—this is a nearly $100-million investment that will support the upskilling and training of PSWs and RPNs. This program will increase access to nursing programs and create an additional 500 spaces for enrolment in our bridging program this year. And through our fall economic statement, we announced an investment of nearly $342 million over the next five years to add over 5,000 registered practical nurses and 8,000 personal support workers.