Province investing $3.4 billion to connect everyone in Ontario to primary care
On June 29, 2026, Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, visited the Kawartha North Family Health Team in Kawartha Lakes, which is one of nearly 200 teams across Ontario being funded through the province’s $3.4 billion Primary Care Action Plan to connect everyone in the province to a primary care provider by 2029. The Kawartha North Family Health Team, with its partner Community Care City of Kawartha Lakes, received approximately $3.5 million as part of the 2025–26 call for proposals under the Primary Care Action Plan and began attaching patients to care in August 2025. Since then, these clinics have signed up more than 2,500 patients.
“As we work to connect everyone to primary care by 2029, our government is protecting Ontario’s health-care system by investing in new and expanded primary care teams in Ontario communities, including Kawartha Lakes, that will keep families healthier while relieving pressures on emergency departments,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “We encourage those looking for a new primary care clinician to sign up for Health Care Connect, the fastest and most seamless way to get connected to a family doctor, nurse practitioner or primary care team.”
While Ontario continues to lead the country with nearly 90 per cent of people connected to a primary care provider, the province has set clear goals to connect every person to primary care by 2029. Residents in Kawartha Lakes and across Ontario can get connected to primary care by registering through Health Care Connect at ontario.ca/find-family-doctor-or-nurse-practitioner.
The government announced Dr. Jane Philpott as the chair of its Primary Care Action Team in October 2024 with a mandate to connect every Ontarian to primary care by 2029. Building on this momentum, Ontario established the Primary Care Action Plan in January 2025, which will connect approximately two million more people to primary care by 2029, supported by the province’s investment of more than $3.4 billion. 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.
“Access to primary care is one of the most important foundations of a strong and healthy community. This investment in the Kawartha North Family Health Team and Community Care City of Kawartha Lakes is helping connect more local residents with the care they need, closer to home,” said Laurie Scott, MPP Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock. “Our government’s Primary Care Action Plan is delivering real results by expanding access to family doctors, nurse practitioners and primary care teams, reducing pressure on our hospitals, and ensuring people can get the right care, at the right time. I am proud to see this investment making a meaningful difference for families across Kawartha Lakes.”
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 will receive funding for a new or expanded primary care team as part of the latest call for proposals under the Primary Care Action Plan. These teams are expected to connect another 500,000 patients to primary care across Ontario, including those on the Health Care Connect waitlist.
- Ontario is advancing a new provincewide Primary Care Medical Record system to integrate patient records, reduce administrative burden for clinicians and improve the quality and coordination of care.
- 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.
- Ontario’s Primary Care Action Team is drawing on best-in-class models of care to implement its action plan, supported by the government’s investment of more than $3.4 billion to connect approximately two million more people to primary care by 2029, which will achieve the government’s goal of connecting everyone in the province to primary care.
- In 2024, Ontario invested $110 million in primary care teams across the province, helping to connect over 610,000 more people to primary care close to home.
- 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.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
