Ontario Announces $235 Million Investment for Over 130 New Primary Care Teams in 2025
The Ontario government announced on June 23, 2025, a $235 million investment to create more than 130 new and expanded primary care teams this year. According to the province, this effort is expected to connect 300,000 people to primary care as part of its $2.1 billion Primary Care Action Plan.
The new and expanded teams, according to the government, will serve communities with the highest number of residents without a primary care provider. The province selected teams by reviewing proposals from organizations in targeted postal codes, including areas with large numbers of people on the Health Care Connect waitlist. According to the province, each team was chosen based on its plan to connect a large proportion of unattached residents and on its readiness to make progress within a year.
The government reports it is providing $142 million in operational funding over three years for primary care teams to recruit and retain health-care professionals other than physicians. These include nurse practitioners, registered practical nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists. During the announcement at Flemingdon Health Centre in Toronto, the province allocated more than $4 million in annual funding to connect over 9,600 individuals in East Toronto to primary care through the East Toronto Health Partners Ontario Health Team. According to the government, the Flemingdon Health Centre will prioritize patients with complex health needs.
In addition, the province announced a $300 million investment toward building up to 17 new and expanded community-based primary care teaching clinics in areas with high numbers of residents without a primary care provider. According to the province, these clinics are expected to further connect up to 300,000 people to primary care.
The province reported that as of January 1, 2025, 235,000 people remained on the Health Care Connect waitlist. The government states that this figure has decreased by more than 25 per cent as of June 2025 and that it aims to connect all individuals on the waitlist to primary care by spring 2026. Ontario also recently passed the Primary Care Act, which the province says sets objectives for the publicly funded primary care system.
The province notes that interprofessional primary care teams include professionals such as registered nurses, physiotherapists, social workers, and pharmacists, working together to provide care. The government says teams not selected in this funding round may submit proposals in September 2025 when another application process is expected to open.
According to the government, Ontario invested $110 million in primary care teams in 2024, which it states helped connect 328,000 people to primary care that year. The province reports adding over 15,000 new physicians to its health-care workforce since 2018, including increasing the number of family doctors by over 10 per cent. Ontario says it is taking steps to allow U.S.-licensed nurses and board-certified physicians to practice in the province.