Ontario Increasaes Land Ambulance Funding
October 15, 2025Cornwall Ontario — The Ontario government is investing $10,521,539 in Cornwall to connect more people to emergency care faster and increase the availability of paramedics and ambulances in the community.
“Our paramedics and emergency departments provide life saving care when our community needs it most,” said Nolan Quinn, MPP for SDSG. “This critical investment will ensure when an emergency happens, our loved ones receive timely, efficient and excellent health care, close to home.”
In Cornwall, Ontario is increasing land ambulance funding by 8 per cent, bringing the province’s total investment in the region to $10,521,539 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.
“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.
“On behalf of the City of Cornwall, I want to thank the Province for its continued support and funding through the Land Ambulance Service Grant,” said Justin Towndale, Mayor of Cornwall. “This investment helps to ensure that our Paramedic Services are able to continue to provide quick responses to life saving calls across our region.”
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.
“Thanks to this Provincial investment through the Land Ambulance Service Grant, we can enhance emergency medical services across Cornwall and SDG,” said Bill Lister, Chief of Paramedic Services. By investing in advanced equipment and providing our committed paramedics with essential resources, this support enables us to respond more effectively to emergencies and save lives.”
Quick Facts
- 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.