$2.8M investment brings the province one step closer to connecting everyone in Ontario to primary care by 2029
Sarnia-Lambton — 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 $ 2,880,800 this year to connect over 5,600 people to primary care in Sarnia-Lambton.
“Our government’s record investments in primary care are already delivering results in Sarnia-Lambton,” said Bob Bailey, MPP for Sarnia-Lambton. “Our goal is to connect everyone in Ontario to primary care by 2029. I am extremely proud of the work happening in our community to ensure everyone has access to the care they need, where and when they need it.”
Locally, the Ontario government is investing $1,867,500 in the Rapids Family Health Team and partners to support access for over 4,900 new patients. The province is also investing $1,013,300 in the E-nangaabe-jig Health Services organization, which will support over 760 new patients. The Rapids Family Health Team and E-nangaabe-jig Health Services will establish a process to accept new patients and will communicate this to their local community.
Both the Rapids Family Health Team and the E-nangaabe-jig Health Servies were selected 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.
“This investment represents an important step forward in expanding access to primary care across Sarnia-Lambton,” said Nadine Neve, Executive Lead, Sarnia-Lambton Ontario Health Team. “By working together across our region, we are continuing to build on our success and ensuring more people can connect to the care they need, when and where they need it.”
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 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 Sarnia-Lambton, 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.
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.
- Interprofessional primary care teams connect people to a range of health professionals that work together under one roof, including family physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, registered practical nurses, physician assistants, physiotherapists, social workers, dieticians and pharmacists, helping patients to receive more connected and convenient care.
- 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.