Friday, August 28, 2026
Ontario Connecting 600,000 More People to a Family Doctor or Primary Care Team
News ReleaseAugust 18, 2026
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
OTTAWA — 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 waitlist.
- 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 provincewide 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 per cent 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 practise in Ontario. In 2025, over 2,300 nurses and more than 570 doctors from the U.S. chose to practise in Ontario.
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