At their March meeting, the College’s Board approved a balanced budget with a freeze on registrant fees, discussed midwifery registration numbers, considered plans for governance modernization, and more. Board materials are available online and we have highlighted a few key items below.
Registrant Fees Remain Frozen in College’s Balanced Budget
For the second year in a row, the College’s Board approved a balanced budget, maintaining a freeze on registrant fees. The 2025-26 budget reflects an expected decrease in revenue due to projected minimal growth in registrants, lower interest rates, and the absence of project funding. To mitigate this decrease in projected revenue, operating expenses have been reduced, focusing on essential operating needs. The budget also includes a contingency to cover unforeseen or variable expenses, particularly those related to panels and programs.
Midwifery Registration Numbers
The College monitors registrant numbers every year. The 2024-25 fiscal year saw unprecedented registrant attrition, with 76 exits reported at the end of the third quarter, surpassing the previous high of 70 exits in the 2022-23 fiscal year. College staff presented some of this data to the Board and held a discussion about the budgetary impacts from this decline in registrant numbers.
The College has a duty to work in consultation with the Minister to ensure, as a matter of public interest, that the people of Ontario have access to adequate numbers of qualified, skilled and competent regulated midwives. Over the past few years, the College has made several changes to address the lack of growth in midwifery care in Ontario, including increasing the pathways for new midwives to enter the profession, and aiming to support the sustainability of the profession by ensuring regulatory requirements are achievable and proportionate. We continue to investigate further options for ensuring clients have access to midwifery care, including engaging with the Ministry of Health.
Governance Modernization
As the Board is transitioning to a new governance schedule in June 2025, the College’s Governance Policy GP12: The Board’s Annual Planning Cycle required revisions to accommodate new timing considerations. The Board approved updates to GP12 to reflect the shift from a minimum of four Board meetings per year to three; a decision the Board made aiming to streamline governance processes and enhance efficiency. The revisions to the policy also redistribute key activities to ensure timely oversight and review in alignment with the new meeting schedule.
Additionally, the Board received a high-level update about a governance modernization environmental scan that College staff undertook. This update shared information about the scope of work other health regulatory Colleges in Ontario are undertaking in this regard, and some learnings from their processes. The scan included recommendations for maintaining an Executive Committee while preparing for potential legislative changes that may impact the governance structure, as well as establishing several non-statutory committees to enhance Board effectiveness and support the separation of Board and statutory committee work (to the extent possible). The Executive Committee heard these recommendations in greater detail at their February 26, 2025 meeting, and recommended that staff continue gathering information and bring back plans for implementation.