Investments in Halton ambulance services will help paramedics respond to more 9-1-1 calls
August 27, 2026
HALTON REGION – The Ontario government is investing more than $29.1 million in Halton Region to strengthen land ambulance services and support faster emergency care for residents.
As part of this investment, the Regional Municipality of Halton will receive $27,683,116 through the Land Ambulance Service Grant (LASG) in 2026, representing an 11 per cent increase over 2025 funding.
Ontario is also providing $1,458,387 to Halton Region through the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program in 2026-27. The program supports nurses and other eligible health professionals who help transfer patients from ambulances to emergency department care, allowing paramedics to return to the community and respond to their next 9-1-1 call sooner.
“For residents in Oakville North-Burlington and across Halton, having an ambulance and paramedics available when an emergency happens can make all the difference. That’s why this investment of more than $29.1 million in Halton’s ambulance services, including $27.7 million in land ambulance funding and nearly $1.5 million for dedicated offload nurses, is so important.” Said Effie Triantafilopoulos, MPP for Oakville North-Burlington. “It will help ensure Halton has the resources it needs to keep ambulances on the road, support our paramedics and help ensure people can get the emergency care they need when they need it.”
The province is investing nearly $1.1 billion in land ambulance funding across Ontario in 2026, representing an average increase of 9 per cent from 2025. The increased base funding helps municipalities address rising costs while continuing to deliver high-quality emergency medical services.
The Dedicated Offload Nurses Program is also helping reduce delays paramedics encounter when transferring patients to hospital emergency departments. Through investments in offload nursing and collaboration between paramedic services and hospitals, provincial ambulance offload times have decreased by approximately 70 per cent since October 2022.
“Our government is making record investments to protect Ontario’s health-care system and connect people to the care they need, where and when they need it,” said the Honourable Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “With provincial ambulance offload times declining by nearly 70 per cent since 2022, this shows that our plan is working.”
Through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government continues to take action to protect the province’s health-care system and ensure people and their families have access to high-quality care closer to home.
QUICK FACTS
- Ontario is investing nearly $1.1 billion to support ambulance operations across the province in 2026. Provincial land ambulance funding is increasing by an average of 9 per cent compared to last year.
- Halton Region will receive $27,683,116 through the Land Ambulance Service Grant in 2026, representing an 11 per cent increase over 2025 funding.
- Halton Region will receive $1,458,387 through the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program in 2026-27.
- Provincial ambulance offload times have decreased by approximately 70 per cent since October 2022.
- More than 300 patient care models led by paramedic services across Ontario are now approved to provide appropriate and timely care options for eligible 9-1-1 patients in the community, instead of in an emergency department.
- 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 tuition, books, compulsory fees and other direct educational costs. In exchange, graduates work in the same region where they studied for a minimum of six months for every full year of study funded by the grant.
- Ontario has added more than 300 student spaces in paramedic programs at provincial colleges across Ontario.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care
- 2026 Ontario Budget: A Plan to Protect Ontario
MEDIA CONTACT
Katie Robinette
EA to Effie Triantafilopoulos, MPP (Oakville North–Burlington) and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming
Katie.robinette@pc.ola.org