Ontario Launches First New University Nursing Program in 20 Years

November 6, 2024

• Our government is continuing to build a stronger health care workforce by establishing a new Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Carleton University in Ottawa. 
• This program will be the first new, university-based nursing program in Ontario in 20 years, graduating over 200 new nurses each year, helping to maintain and expand the province’s nursing workforce.

• As we invest $50 billion in more than 50 new and upgraded hospital projects across the province, we’re also investing in the health care workforce Ontario families are counting on.
• Starting in September 2025, Carleton University will offer a new, direct entry, compressed three-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program. The first class of up to 110 nursing students will be ready to practice as registered nurses by 2029.
• This new program will continue to grow to enroll more than 200 each year by 2030, building on the province’s work to date to grow the health care workforce by adding 6,500 new spaces in Ontario’s nursing programs over the last three years.
• Carleton University’s new nursing program will provide more students with the opportunity to launch their career in nursing to connect more families to care, for generations to come.

• By giving universities like Carleton more freedom to innovate in how they educate our future nurses, students can enter this program right after high school, finish in three years, and start caring for families in Eastern Ontario and across the province even sooner.
• Through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, our government is supporting new and innovative programs to train future health care providers and ensure people across the province have access to the care they need, when they need it.