The Ontario government is taking the next steps to deliver its Primary Care Action Plan, which is on track to connect everyone in the province to a family doctor or primary care provider by 2029.
As part of this plan to connect everyone in Ontario to a publicly funded family doctor or primary care team, the Ontario government is investing $4,513,300 this year to connect up to 10,447 people to primary care across Parry Sound-Muskoka.
“Our government is making record investments in health care and taking real action to connect more people in Parry Sound-Muskoka to the care they need,” said Graydon Smith, MPP for Parry Sound-Muskoka. “This funding will help our family health teams and Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics create more spaces for patients, recruit more doctors and nurse practitioners, and connect more residents to primary care. While there is still more work to do, this investment is another important step forward in our plan to ensure everyone in our community can access a family doctor or primary care provider. I’m proud to see Parry Sound-Muskoka benefit from our government’s continued commitment to strengthening local health care.”
The Cottage Country Family Health Team, which serves South Muskoka, will receive $2,136,800 to help connect 6,090 patients to primary care. The West Parry Sound Health Centre Rural Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic will receive $1,140,500 to help connect 2,021 patients to primary care across the West Parry Sound region. The Algonquin Family Health Team and North Muskoka Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, which serves North Muskoka, will receive $620,100 to help connect 1,680 patients to primary care. The Wasauksing First Nation Health Department will receive $615,900 to help connect 656 patients to primary care.
Each organization will establish and communicate a local process for accepting new patients, supported by a plan to connect a high proportion of unattached residents, including those on the Health Care Connect waitlist.
These teams have been funded through the latest call for proposals under the Primary Care Action Plan, with all 124 funded teams expected to connect another 500,000 patients to primary care across Ontario.
Through the 2026 Budget, the province is also increasing overall funding for the plan to a total of $3.4 billion between 2025 and 2029.
The province has also exceeded its 2025-26 attachment goal under the Primary Care Action Plan, which was to connect 300,000 patients to a primary care provider by March 31, 2026. As of January 1, 2026, the province had already connected 330,000 people to care in 2025-26, surpassing its goal by more than 30,000 with three months still to go.
“Through our Primary Care Action Plan, we are connecting more people to care and have already exceeded our 2025-26 attachment target,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “By connecting more families to care in Parry Sound and Muskoka, our government is taking the next step toward connecting everyone in the province 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.
“CCFHT is honoured to receive $2.1 million in provincial funding as part of Ontario’s plan to expand primary care teams, enabling us to attach more than 5,000 permanent residents to primary care across Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Muskoka Lakes, and Wahta. Standing alongside our partners at West Parry Sound Health Centre, Algonquin Family Health Team, North Muskoka NPLC, and Wasauksing First Nation, this announcement represents a meaningful and much-needed win for the entire region, strengthening access to care for the communities we collectively serve,” stated Trish Mintz, Executive Director, Cottage Country Family Health Team.
“With increased base funding for both the North Muskoka NPLC and the Algonquin FHT, our teams will hire additional nurse practitioners to attach patients to primary care, providing access to ongoing service for 1,600 community members in need,” added Leanna Lefebvre, NP Clinic Lead, North Muskoka Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, and Janine van den Heuvel, ED/CEO, Algonquin Family Health Team
QUICK FACTS
- 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, achieving the government’s goal of connecting everyone in the province to primary care.
- The government is making significant progress on its goal of clearing the Health Care Connect waitlist. As of January 1, 2025, that waitlist had been reduced by more than 87 per cent as the plan continues to hit its targets and deliver faster access to high-quality care.
- Ontarians looking to find a family doctor or nurse practitioner can register with Health Care Connect or call 811.
- Interprofessional primary care teams connect people to a range of health professionals who work together under one roof, including family physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, registered practical nurses, physician assistants, physiotherapists, social workers, dietitians, and pharmacists, helping patients receive more connected and convenient care.
- Since 2018, Ontario has added nearly 20,000 physicians to its health-care workforce, including more than a 14 per cent increase in family doctors.
From the office of Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Graydon Smith
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Thanks to our MPP and to Ontario for this crucial and generous contribution to primary health care in Muskoka. Now all we need is to get all those Ontario hospital deficits covered and sufficient funding for staffing in hospitals.