Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Ontario Connecting 600,000 More People to a Family Doctor or Primary Care Team
Next call for proposals will open September 2026 as part of the province’s $3.4 billion plan to connect every person in the province to primary care by 2029
Today, Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, announced at the 2026 Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference that the Ontario government is connecting 600,000 more people to a family doctor or primary care provider by launching the next call for proposals in September 2026, to create or expand approximately 78 primary care teams. This new $250 million investment is part of the government’s $3.4 billion Primary Care Action Plan and brings the province one step closer to connecting everyone in Ontario to primary care by 2029.
“As we work to connect every person in Ontario to a family doctor or primary care team by 2029, we’re making historic investments to bring more care directly into communities across the province,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “This next call for proposals will connect 600,000 more people to family doctors and primary care teams, keep families healthier and relieve pressure on emergency departments.”
The government established the Primary Care Action Team, led by Dr. Jane Philpott on December 1, 2024, with a mandate to connect every Ontarian to primary care by 2029. Building on this momentum, Ontario launched the Primary Care Action Plan on January 27, 2025, supported by a historic $3.4 billion provincial investment.
Ontario continues to lead the country with nearly 90 per cent of people connected to a primary care provider and is making unprecedented investments to connect every person to primary care by 2029 through its plan to add over 300 new primary care teams and connect two million more people to care. Through the plan, the government has launched two rounds of funding for new and expanded primary care teams, resulting in 199 successful applicants for new and expanded interprofessional primary care teams to connect 800,000 more people to primary care across the province. Since the launch of the Primary Care Action Plan, over 437,000 people have been connected to primary care. Residents across Ontario can get connected to primary care by registering through Health Care Connect at Ontario.ca/HealthCareConnect.
Communities across Ontario will be eligible to apply for funding through this next call for proposals in September 2026. All Ontario Health Teams will be provided guidance in September, leading up to the call for proposals launch.
“Every person in Ontario deserves access to a primary care team who knows them and can support their health over time,” said Dr. Jane Philpott, Chair of the Primary Care Action Team. “The next call for proposals will help connect hundreds of thousands more people to comprehensive, team-based care in their communities and moves us closer to achieving our shared goal of connecting everyone to primary care by 2029.”
Through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government continues to take bold and decisive action to grow the province’s highly skilled health-care workforce and ensure people and their families have access to high-quality care, closer to home, for generations to come.
Quick Facts:
- One hundred and twenty-four successful applicants are receiving funding for a new or expanded primary care team as part of the 2026-27 call for proposals under the Primary Care Action Plan. These teams will connect another 500,000 patients to primary care across Ontario, including those on the Health Care Connect wait list.
- Primary care teams connect people to a range of health professionals that work together under one roof, including doctors, nurse practitioners, registered and practical nurses, physiotherapists, social workers and dietitians, among others. Timely access to primary care helps people stay healthier for longer with faster diagnosis and treatment, as well as more consistent support managing their day-to-day health while relieving pressures on emergency departments.
- Ontarians looking to find a family doctor or nurse practitioner can register with Health Care Connect or call 811.
- Ontario is advancing a new province-wide Primary Care Medical Record system to integrate patient records, reduce administrative burden for family doctors or primary care providers and improve the quality and coordination of care.
- Since 2018, Ontario has added over 20,000 additional physicians to its health-care workforce, including an over 14 percent increase in family doctors.
- Ontario is taking significant steps to strengthen its health-care workforce by making it easier for US-licensed nurses and board-certified physicians to move to and practice in Ontario. In 2025, over 2,300 nurses and more than 570 doctors from the U.S. chose to practice in Ontario.
Quotes:
"Thank you to Minister Jones and the Ford government for providing this greatly needed investment in connecting patients with family doctors and primary care. Team based care and integrating health-care professionals to work together to meet the needs of patients is vitally important to ensuring every Ontarian has access to health care."
- Dr. Rebecca Hicks, President, Ontario Medical Association
"We welcome today’s announcement, which will enable more primary care organizations to expand attachment to comprehensive, interprofessional care across Ontario. We recognize the primary care teams and professionals working every day to deliver high-quality care and meet the growing needs of their communities, and this investment will help more teams reach more people. We thank the Government of Ontario for continuing to prioritize primary care access and look forward to working with government and our health system partners to help connect every Ontarian to the primary care they need and deserve."
- Jess Rogers, CEO, Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario
"Continued investment in primary care teams is good news for family physicians and patients across Ontario. By expanding access to team-based care, family doctors are better supported to respond to the increasingly complex needs of their patients. We are encouraged by the progress being made through Ontario’s Primary Care Action Plan and look forward to continuing to work with government to expand access to team-based resources for family physicians. Together, we must ensure every Ontarian can access a family physician and the primary care they need, when they need it."
- Dr. Jobin Varughese, President, Ontario College of Family Physicians
"Every Ontarian deserves timely access to primary care close to home. RNAO welcomes this investment in interprofessional primary care teams and the government's continued focus on connecting more people to care. Registered nurses and nurse practitioners are key to making this vision a reality."
- Dr. Doris Grinspun, CEO, Registered Nurses Association of Ontario
"This investment is a meaningful step toward strengthening primary care. Nurse practitioners play a critical, leading role to ensure Ontarians are attached and receiving the timely and high-quality care that they deserve. This investment is an opportunity to build stronger, more sustainable primary care teams that can meet the needs of our province's diverse communities, no matter where they are located."
- Dr. Michelle Acorn, CEO, Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario
"This additional investment is an important step toward ensuring that more people in Ontario have access to the primary care they need, when and where they need it. Our members across the province are ready to build on this momentum. As community-governed primary care organizations, they are deeply rooted in the communities they serve and are responding every day to the unique needs of people who face barriers to care. Our members know that improving access is about more than increasing the number of people attached to a primary care provider. It means creating care that is welcoming, culturally responsive, accessible and designed around the realities of people’s lives. We look forward to working with the government and our partners to ensure this investment reaches communities where the need is greatest and helps build a primary care system where everyone in Ontario can get the care they need."
- Sarah Hobbs, CEO, Alliance for Healthier Communities
Additional Resources:
Media Contacts:
Lily Barnes
Minister Jones’ Office
lily.barnes@ontario.ca
Media Relations
Communications Branch
media.moh@ontario.ca
|