Dundas Manor faces crisis as 60% of frontline staff set to lose work permits
The only long-term care home in North and South Dundas is losing international nurses and support workers as federal immigration policy tightens.
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Dundas Manor in Winchester is facing a staffing collapse. Work permits for 60 international nurses and personal support workers are expiring in coming months, and extensions are being denied. Despite months of effort, only 4 of those workers have secured permit extensions; the rest are either denied or stuck in bureaucratic limbo. Some are leaving as early as October, with dozens more departing in early 2027.
The timing is brutal. The home employs 160 people total, with about 100 working directly with patients. Of those 100 frontline workers, 60 are temporary foreign workers. Dundas Manor is the only long-term care home in North and South Dundas — meaning residents have nowhere else to turn. The facility is also preparing to move into a building almost twice its current size, which means hiring more staff, not losing them.
Cholly Boland, the home's CEO, said the crisis cannot be solved through domestic recruitment alone. Out of 67 job applicants in recent months, only 3 were Canadian. Since January, only 1 of 3 Canadian hires stayed. The home is currently hiring people whose work permits expire in December because no other applicants are available. "We're about to move into a building that's almost twice the size of our current home," Boland said. "Not only do we have to hire more staff, but, if we lose these staff that we already have, it's just going to be an absolute crisis for us."
Dundas Manor began international hiring about 2 years ago, when local job applications dried up. The facility is working with an immigration lawyer and agency on permit extensions, but federal officials told the home that an "infinitesimal" number of work permits across the country are being extended. The federal government is targeting a temporary population of less than 5% of Canada's total by the end of 2027.
Kate Grimes, the home's human resources lead and immigration liaison, said health care is receiving some exemptions because of ongoing labour shortages. "The overall immigration environment has become more restrictive than it was several years ago," she said. "Both our residents and our staff are bearing the consequences of a workforce shortage that we have been actively trying to address for years."
What contingency plans has Dundas Manor put in place if the majority of international staff departs as expected?
What federal support exists for long-term care homes facing this staffing shortage, and why wasn't transition planning addressed earlier?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
The facts
How many international workers at Dundas Manor are losing their work permits?
60 international nurses and personal support workers at Dundas Manor in Winchester have work permits expiring in coming months, with extensions being denied.
What proportion of Dundas Manor's frontline staff are temporary foreign workers?
Of the 100 frontline workers at Dundas Manor, 60 are temporary foreign workers—60 percent of the home's direct patient care staff.
Why is the timing of these departures particularly problematic for Dundas Manor?
Dundas Manor is the only long-term care home in North and South Dundas, leaving residents with no alternative facility, and the home is simultaneously preparing to move into a building almost twice its current size, requiring more staff rather than fewer.
