First responders are there in life’s most critical moments. When seconds matter and lives hang in the balance, Ontarians rely on workers who show up every day, often putting themselves at risk, to protect, safeguard, and care for others.
Today is First Responders Day and CUPE Ontario and the CUPE Ambulance Committee of Ontario (CACO) recognize the extraordinary work of paramedics across this province – professionals who make a difference not because of Ontario’s emergency medical system, but too often in spite of it.
Paramedics are an equal pillar of Ontario’s first response system alongside fire and police. Yet years of neglect and underfunding have pushed the system to the brink of collapse, with frequent Code Blacks leaving communities without available ambulances, alarming rates of PTSD, trauma, and burnout among first responders, and a deepening recruitment and retention crisis. The fact that many Ontarians do not feel the full impact of these failures is a testament to the skill, professionalism, and dedication of paramedics who continue to hold the system together under increasingly unsustainable conditions.
We should not be relying on the personal heroics of paramedics to ensure timely, life-saving care. A functioning emergency medical system cannot be built on overtime, burnout, and personal sacrifice. In the absence of proper funding and adequate staffing, that’s exactly the system our government has created.
The data makes the crisis impossible to ignore. According to the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs, in 2023 alone the province needed 1,388 new paramedics but hired only 997 – leaving a shortfall of 391 workers in a single year. That gap is projected to grow, not shrink, and place an even greater strain on a workforce that is already stretched beyond its limits.
At the same time, paramedics are experiencing disproportionately high levels of workplace injury and psychological trauma. Between 2023 and 2025, paramedics filed 5,167 claims with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. By comparison, police officers filed 2,146 claims and firefighters 4,161 over the same period despite those sectors employing far more workers, with approximately 25,000 police officers and 30,000 firefighters compared to just 13,000 paramedics.
These figures should be a wake-up call: paramedics are facing intense physical and mental demands without the level of support routinely provided to other first responders.
Faced with these realities, paramedics are increasingly being pushed to take unprecedented steps to address a crisis that has been allowed to deepen for years. CUPE is proud to represent approximately 5,500 paramedics across Ontario, including members of CUPE 911 in Niagara and CUPE 2974 in Windsor-Essex, who have recently held strike votes. These workers are negotiating Essential Ambulance Services Agreements so they can exercise their fundamental right to strike, an extraordinary measure that underscores just how urgent the situation has become.
First Responders Day should be a moment of recognition – but recognition without action is not enough. Paramedics need more than symbolic gestures. They need parity, fair compensation, equitable access to benefits and mental health, and a staffing strategy that provides for the needs of all Ontarians without relying on burnout and overtime to fill gaps.
Ontario’s first response system is only as strong as its weakest pillar. Right now, paramedicine is being asked to carry an unsustainable burden without the resources, respect, or recognition afforded to its counterparts. That must change.
On this First Responders Day, we honour the dedication, professionalism, and courage of paramedics across Ontario. But we also reaffirm a clear and urgent message: treating paramedics as equals is not optional—it is essential to the health and safety of our communities.
