Hamilton’s largest hospital network projecting $150-million deficit.
Sept. 18, 2026
By Joanna Frketich
The Hamilton Spectator
Hamilton’s largest hospital network is cutting 413 jobs — including 143 nurses — as it grapples with a projected $150-million deficit.
The Spectator has learned that Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) is looking to cut two per cent from clinical budgets and five per cent from administration for the fiscal year that runs April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027.
“My first thought is the impact on patients,” said Jillian Watt, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 7800 at HHS. “It’s terrifying.”
Job losses at St. Joseph’s HealthcareThe cuts at HHS are on top of 86 jobs eliminated at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton — 24 in the current fiscal year and 62 last fiscal year. St. Joe’s is also cutting 41 registered nurses (RN) and replacing them with lesser-trained registered practical nurses (RPN) and personal support workers (PSW).
St. Joe’s is projecting a deficit of $20.7 million on its roughly $800-million budget and cutting $5.3 million. That’s on top of $9.1 million axed last fiscal year when it ran a deficit of $18.7 million after getting a smaller budget increase than the provincial average.
HHS cut $40 million last fiscal year from its roughly $2 billion budget.
Read more at The Hamilton Spectator
