Official registries and open data list 1,049 active companies in health care and social assistance in Ontario, which puts Ontario in 3rd place in Canada for this sector (2 % of the national total). 70 of them (7 %) have at least one known director, and 29 (3 %) published an official change in the last 18 months: incorporation, amendment, change of director or address.
Want a closer look at these companies? ciblr sends you 5 profiles of companies in health care and social assistance in Ontario free of charge, contact details included.
Get 5 profiles from this segmentCanada's health spending is expected to reach $399 billion in 2025, or 12.7% of GDP, and health care and social assistance is the only major employer creating jobs on a large scale in 2026 (+129,000 year over year). The market is hybrid: 71% of spending is public and steered by the provinces, but delivery relies on 144,000 private employers, from medical and dental clinics to seniors' residences, laboratories and community organizations.
NAICS 62 has four subsectors: ambulatory care (physician, dental and other practitioner offices, laboratories, home care), hospitals, care facilities (long-term care homes, seniors' residences, rehabilitation) and social assistance (child and family services, child care, employment services, community housing). According to CIHI, health spending will reach $399 billion in 2025 (+4.2%), or 12.7% of GDP; hospitals account for 26.0% of spending, physician services 13.8% and drugs 13.3%.
The base is two-tiered. ISED counts 354,069 establishments in 2025, of which 144,220 are employers; 57.3% of these employers have one to four employees and 40.0% have 5 to 99, while the 476 large employers (hospitals, regional authorities, residence networks such as Chartwell, Revera or Groupe Sélection, laboratories such as Dynacare and LifeLabs) hold most of the workforce. Ontario (54,167 employers), Quebec (29,465) and British Columbia (23,912) dominate.
According to Job Bank, Ontario had 1,007,100 jobs in 2024, or 12.4% of its workforce and 35.7% of Canadian employment in the sector, split between hospitals (32.8%), ambulatory care (31.6%), social assistance (18.2%) and care facilities (17.4%). Per capita spending varies widely: $11,617 in Nova Scotia versus $9,045 in Ontario and $9,320 in Quebec in 2025 (CIHI).
Demand is structural: aging, population growth and post-pandemic catch-up. According to the Labour Force Survey, employment growth was concentrated in health care and social assistance, with 129,000 more positions year over year in August 2026 (+4.5%); in May 2026 the sector's job vacancy rate was still 3.4%, among the highest in the country, even though vacancies fell 11.6% on the month (Statistics Canada, SEPH). Job Bank expects continued growth in Ontario employment from 2025 to 2027, with a persistent shortage and a vacancy rate of 5.0% in 2024.
Provinces are reorganizing their networks and tightening budgets. Santé Québec, operating since December 1, 2024, manages a $46 billion budget and closed 2025-2026 in balance after an anticipated $1.5 billion deficit, thanks to $750 million in savings in the first four months, lower administrative costs (from 4.5% to 4.2% of spending) and reduced use of staffing agencies. Alberta replaced Alberta Health Services with four agencies (Acute Care Alberta, Primary Care Alberta, Recovery Alberta, Assisted Living Alberta) between April 2024 and fall 2025. Ontario and British Columbia are expanding partnerships with private clinics for surgeries and imaging.
Federally, the Canada Health Transfer stands at $54.7 billion in 2025-2026, but Budget 2025 plans to lower its escalator from 5% to GDP growth, adds no funding to pharmacare agreements and imposes 15% reductions on Health Canada. It does create a tax credit for personal support workers ($1.48 billion over six years) and funds foreign credential recognition ($97 million over five years). The Canadian Dental Care Plan, with 90% of providers participating, and the contraception and diabetes drug agreements (BC, Manitoba, PEI, Yukon) are expanding demand in practices and pharmacies.
Health falls under the provinces within the Canada Health Act. Public networks (Santé Québec and its CISSS and CIUSSS, Ontario Health and the hospitals, British Columbia's health authorities, Alberta's four agencies, Shared Health in Manitoba, Nova Scotia Health) plan, fund and purchase. Professionals are governed by colleges (Collège des médecins du Québec, CPSO, OIIQ, dental, pharmacy and physiotherapy colleges), and seniors' residences, child care centres and laboratories by provincial licences.
The federal government acts through Health Canada (drug and medical device approvals, Canadian Dental Care Plan), the Public Health Agency, CIHI for data and Canada Health Infoway for digital health; it is also a direct provider for First Nations, veterans and the armed forces. Associations include the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, HealthCareCAN, the Canadian Association for Long Term Care, the Regroupement québécois des résidences pour aînés and the provincial medical federations.
Purchasing goes through group purchasing organizations (Sigma Santé, Healthpro, Mohawk Medbuy, the Provincial Health Services Authority in BC) and provincial tender portals (SEAO, Ontario Tenders Portal, BC Bid, Alberta Purchasing Connection). Hospital projects (Infrastructure Ontario, Société québécoise des infrastructures) are among the largest public works in the country.
Who buys what: hospitals and networks buy medical equipment and supplies, drugs, information technology and cybersecurity, food services, laundry, maintenance and security, staffing agencies and training; clinics and practices (57% of employers have fewer than five employees) buy records and billing software, dental and imaging equipment, insurance, accounting, local marketing and recruiting; seniors' residences and child care centres buy real estate, construction, furniture, food services, remote monitoring and labour.
Cycles and signals to watch: provincial budgets (March) and the networks' annual plans set the envelopes; group purchasing tenders renew every three to five years; seniors' residence and child care licences and new clinic registrations signal site openings; job postings for nurses, care aides and early childhood educators reveal expansions; reforms (Santé Québec, Alberta's agencies) reshuffle incumbent suppliers.
How ciblr helps: filter health employers by NAICS 62 subsector and province, spot recently registered clinics, laboratories and residences, identify multi-site groups through ownership links, cross-reference public health contract awards to target selected suppliers and subcontractors, and track hiring as an indicator of expansion or new mandates.
The largest market: 54,167 employers (2025, ISED), 1,007,100 jobs and 35.7% of Canadian sector employment, 43.1% of it in Toronto (Job Bank, 2024); sector GDP reaches $64.2 billion (7.2% of Ontario's GDP). Ontario Health coordinates the network, the vacancy rate was 5.0% in 2024 and per capita spending ($9,045) is the lowest in the country.
Of these 1,049 companies, 70 are federally incorporated, 142 are known through the provincial registry, 837 only through open data (licences, public contracts, grants, registered employers). 15 of them were founded in 2025 and 2026, that is 1 % of the active base; 10 incorporations in 2025. That is in line with the average of the three previous years (12 a year): a steady pace of creation.
Over the last 12 months, 12 companies in the sector (1 %) won at least one public contract, 20 contracts in all, published by governments, cities and public bodies. 67 received a federal grant or contribution (117 agreements).
Headcount is known for 823 companies (78 %): 5,560 declared jobs in total, and the median company has 1-4 employees.
697 companies (66 %) publish a general phone or email, 572 have a website verified by ciblr, 1 hold an official licence or permit.
Moves published in the last 90 days: 1 dissolutions.
1,049 companies in health care and social assistance are active in Ontario according to official registries and open data, that is 2 % of the 52,121 companies in the sector across Canada.
70 of these companies (7 %) have at least one director on the federal registry (the only registry that publishes directors), which lets you approach them through the right person.
ciblr sends 5 company profiles from this target free of charge, directors and contact details included. The subscription at 99 CAD per month gives access to the whole target, with Excel export and change tracking.
Every company counted here is active in an official registry (Corporations Canada, Registraire des entreprises du Québec, OrgBook BC) or named by an official open source (licence, public contract, grant, registered employer). The sector is a NAICS code, size comes from the declared headcount when a source provides it and otherwise from an estimate based on the registry (board size, age, status, statute), and "recent signal" means a published move (incorporation, amendment, change of director, address, contract, grant, hiring) in the last 18 months. Figures are recomputed every week from the ciblr database. No data is purchased or invented.
ciblr sends you 5 profiles of companies in health care and social assistance in Ontario free of charge, directors and contact details included. For the whole target, the subscription is 99 CAD per month, no commitment.