ONTARIO CONNECTING MORE PATIENTS TO PRIMARY CARE IN NORTH BAY
Province investing $3.4 billion to connect everyone in Ontario to primary care
April 09, 2026
Premier’s OfficeNORTH BAY — Today, Premier Doug Ford was in North Bay to visit the North Bay
Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, which is one of 130 teams across Ontario being
funded through the province’s $3.4 billion Primary Care Action Plan.
The North Bay Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic received $477,800 as part of the
2025–26 call for proposals under the Primary Care Action Plan and began
attaching patients to care in July 2025. Since then, the clinic has already
signed up 245 patients, which is equivalent to 22 per cent of its overall target
of 1,138 patients, putting it on track to meet or exceed its goal by 2029.
“We’re investing record amounts in health care across Ontario, building
hospitals, training more doctors and nurses than ever before and connecting
patients to convenient primary care in their community,” said Premier Ford.
“Here in North Bay, these investments are helping more people get the care they
need when and where they need it. I want to thank all of our incredible partners
in the community who are helping make this possible as we work to connect
everyone in the province to primary care by 2029.”
Through its Primary Care Action Plan, the province is funding two primary care
teams in the North Bay region that have already connected hundreds of patients
to care. In addition to the North Bay Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, the
province is also funding the North Bay Indigenous Hub — Giiwedno Mshkikiiwgamig,
which is receiving $714,700 to attach people in Indigenous communities in North
Bay, Nipissing First Nation, Dokis First Nation and Temagami First Nation, and
has already attached 26 per cent of its primary care target. Residents in North
Bay and across Ontario can get connected to primary care by registering through
Health Care Connect at ontario.ca/find-family-doctor-or-nurse-practitioner.
“We are protecting Ontario’s health-care system by building new and expanded
primary care teams in local communities that will keep people healthier for
longer, while relieving pressures on emergency departments,” said Sylvia Jones,
Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “We encourage all new patients to sign up
for Health Care Connect as 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 regular health-care provider, the province has set clear goals to
close the remaining gap and connect every person to primary care by 2029, the
first of which is to clear the Health Care Connect waitlist as of January 1,
2025 by spring 2026. As of this week, that waitlist has been reduced by more
than 90 per cent as the plan continues to hit its targets and deliver faster
access to high-quality care.
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.
“Our government’s record investments in primary care are already delivering
results here in North Bay,” said Vic Fedeli, MPP for Nipissing. “As the province
remains on track to connect everyone in Ontario to primary care by 2029, we are
proud of the work happening in our community to ensure local families have
access to the care they need, where and when they need it.”
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 580,000 more people to primary
care close to home.
* Since 2018, Ontario has added nearly 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 1,700 nurses and more than
450 doctors from the US have already chosen Ontario.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
* Ontario Investing an Additional $30 Million to Expand Primary Care Workforce
* Ontario Building and Expanding 16 Teaching Clinics to Connect 300,000 More
People to Primary Care
* Ontario Marks One Year Milestone in Primary Care Action Plan
* Ontario Connecting 500,000 More People to a Family Doctor and Primary Care
Team
* New and Expanded Interprofessional Primary Care Teams Funding by Region
* Ontario Connecting Over 300,000 People to Primary Care Teams
* Ontario Taking Next Steps to Protect Primary Care
* Ontario Investing Over $1.8 Billion to Connect Every Person in Ontario to a
Family Doctor and Primary Care Teams
* Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care
