Connect More People to Primary Care in Nipissing
This investment brings the province one step closer to connecting everyone in Ontario to primary care by 2029
Vic Fedeli, MPP for Nipissing announced that the Ontario government is taking the next steps to deliver its Primary Care Action Plan by investing $1.5 million to grow two local primary care teams. This support will attach 1,549 patients to a publicly funded family doctor or a primary care team in Nipissing.
“Under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government continues to make record investments to protect our healthcare system and make it easier for patients and families to connect to care in Nipissing,” said MPP Vic Fedeli. “This support has brought the province one step closer to ensuring that everyone in Ontario has access to the right care, in the right place, at right time.”
Local funding includes:
· $1,202,100 for the North Bay Indigenous Hub to attach 1,076 patients to a primary care provider.
· $366,500 for the Blue Sky Family Health Team (FHT) to connect 473 patients to a primary care provider.
"Very thankful for the investment in Indigenous Primary Care where our community members can receive culturally safe, trauma informed care. This will improve health outcomes for Indigenous people. In partnership with the Powassan and Area Family Health Team, together we will increase accessibility, improve health care for marginalized and rural populations where they can receive interdisciplinary health care closer to home." - Laureen Linklater-Pizzale, Executive Director of the North Bay Indigenous Hub.
“We appreciate the provincial support for this funding, which will help strengthen primary care services for patients referred through our affiliated physicians. This investment allows us to implement the upcoming expansion thoughtfully and sustainably, while addressing staffing and operational considerations.” - Dr. Idowu Oyeniran, Blue Sky Family Health Team’s Board Chair.
This investment was funded through the latest call for proposals under the Primary Care Action Plan, with all 124 teams receiving funding expected to connect another 500,000 patients to primary care across Ontario. Each team has established a plan to attach a high proportion of unattached people in their community, including those on the Health Care Connect waitlist. 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 2025-2026 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 has already attached 330,000 people to care in 2025-2026, surpassing its goal by more than 30,000 with three months still to go.
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
· 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.
· The government is making significant progress on its goal of clearing the Health Care Connect waitlist as of January 1, 2025. That waitlist has 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.
· 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.
