Building Workforce Capacity: What a Nationwide Mobilization Is Revealing

Across eight provinces, more than 1,100 supporters have generated over 10,000 letters to federal decision-makers through CHCA’s Building Workforce Capacity campaign.

The campaign calls on the federal government to address immigration delays and policy gaps that threaten workforce stability and the continuity of care.

Canada must also pair immigration reform with sustained domestic recruitment, retention and training. Building and sustaining home and community care capacity will require a long-term workforce strategy that uses every available lever. In the meantime, we cannot shock the home and community care system by drastically cutting the current workforce.

Among the evidence highlighted through the campaign, nearly 30% of health care workers surveyed reported that their visas were set to expire – at a time when home and community care organizations are struggling to recruit and retain the health care providers needed to meet growing demand.

Supporters across Canada have turned that evidence into a nationwide mobilization. Their response reflects a shared concern: workforce stability in home and community care matters to Canadians.

Recent Abacus Data polling underscores that concern: 91% of Canadians are worried about the future of public health care, 63% describe the system in their province as being in crisis, and 55% believe it has worsened over the past five years. Yet Canadians have not given up on public health care – 80% believe the system can meet their needs if governments invest more in it.

The findings point to an important distinction: Canadians still believe in public health care – but they are increasingly uncertain it will be there when they need it. Continued investment in home and community care, backed by a stable workforce, is critical to closing that gap and ensuring people can count on reliable, publicly funded care in their homes and communities.

Building Workforce Capacity campaign participation by province, August 2026.

When Workforce Instability Reaches the Home

When a work permit expires, a home care organization can lose a trained and experienced employee with little time to replace them. People receiving care may face missed or delayed visits, disrupted routines, and the sudden loss of someone who understands their needs.

Families and unpaid caregivers may then need to take on additional care responsibilities, contributing to far-reaching impacts such as absenteeism, burnout and health impacts for caregivers.

For older adults, people living with a disability, or those with chronic or complex needs, continuity can be essential to their safety, independence, and ability to remain at home. When home care cannot absorb these gaps, pressure shifts to hospitals, emergency departments, and long-term care.

What Home Care Workers Are Telling Us

Home care workers describe becoming trusted parts of their clients’ lives, only to face leaving those roles when their permits expire or immigration pathways stall.

Shana, a personal support worker who shared her experience through the campaign, explained:

“In home care, consistency matters. Clients rely on familiar faces and routines, and I worry about how these disruptions affect them as well. At this point, I am doing my best to remain hopeful, but the uncertainty is overwhelming at times. I truly want to continue contributing to the healthcare system and supporting those who depend on care in their homes.”

Home care depends on trust, familiarity and a deep understanding of each person’s needs, preferences and routines. When an experienced worker can no longer provide care, the impact extends beyond a staffing change. It can abruptly end a relationship that took months or years to build.

Workers also describe the deeply personal uncertainty these policies create for them and their families:

“We are caregivers. We help Canadian families every single day. We are not numbers. We are human beings with hopes, dreams, and children who deserve stability.

— Abhirami, Home Care Worker

Together, these experiences reveal the human consequences of immigration delays and policy gaps. They also raise an urgent question: if Canada loses trained and experienced home and community care workers, who will support the people who depend on them?

Read more lived experiences shared through the campaign here.

The potential scale is significant. By 2029, approximately 7 million home care visits delivered by more than 8,000 temporary foreign workers could be at risk in Ontario alone, affecting more than 30,000 people. The nationwide impact is expected to be materially higher.

Get Involved: National Letter-Writing Campaign

The campaign is reaching federal decision-makers. Letters have reached parliamentary offices across the country, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and the Minister of Immigration’s Office. These efforts have brought the experiences of workers, providers, and families directly to those responsible for federal immigration policy.

CHCA is working toward its next milestones: 2,000 supporters before the campaign closes on October 18. Every additional voice strengthens the public record CHCA can bring into federal discussions and demonstrates how widely these workforce impacts are being felt.

If you are a home care worker, organization, family or friend caregiver, patient, someone who believes Canadians should have reliable access to care at home, join the letter-writing campaign.

The fully editable template automatically identifies your local MP and lets you send a personalized letter to federal decision-makers at the press of a button. You can use it to explain how this issue affects you, your organization, or your community.

What began as a response to policy change now shows – in thousands of letters and personal accounts – what Canada stands to lose. Workforce stability is inseparable from the future of home and community care.