Most Ontarians support single-payer health care: poll

Marc Benoit
Jun 14
1 min read

Marc Benoit

Published Jun 12, 2025

Canadian Union of Public Employees researcher Doug Allen explained how most Ontarians strongly support provincially funded, single-payer health care. The CUPE poll, through Nanos Research, comes a couple of years after Ontario began offloading some services to the for-profit health-care sector. Allen presented the findings at the Cornwall Public Library on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Cornwall, Ont. Photo by Marc Benoit /Cornwall Standard-Freeholder

Most Ontarians want the government to support and improve single-payer health care, according to a new poll released by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in conjunction with Nanos Research.

CUPE is advocating for the provincial government to scale back its efforts to increase health-care spending with for-profit providers in Ontario. In 2023, the Ontario government passed Bill 60, which allowed some health-care services to be offered through for-profit clinics. The services available remain limited, with only cataract surgeries and diagnostic image testing being available through these privately run clinics.

According to the poll, 67 per cent of respondents feel it is outright unacceptable for people to be charged for medically necessary surgeries. Respondents also overwhelmingly agreed the government should prioritize spending on public hospitals over for-profit clinics.

In 2024-25, the Ontario taxpayer will pay roughly $90 billion to support single-payer health care in Canada’s most populous province, which is the most out of any province. When it comes to per-capita spending, Ontario falls to the bottom of the pack.