Ontario Connecting More Patients to Primary Care in Thunder Bay

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THUNDER BAY - Today, Premier Doug Ford visited the Port Arthur Health Centre in Thunder Bay, which is one of nearly 200 teams across Ontario being funded through the province's $3.4 billion Primary Care Action Plan to connect everyone in the province to a primary care provider by 2029. The Port Arthur Health Centre received $958,500 as part of the 2025-26 call for proposals under the Primary Care Action Plan and began attaching patients to care in August 2025. Since then, the clinic has signed up more than 8,000 patients, nearly three times its original target of 2,850.

"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 Thunder 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 five primary care teams in Thunder Bay that have already connected over 11,000 patients to care. In addition to the Port Arthur Health Centre, the province is also funding:

• Harbourview Family Health Team
• Anishnawbe Mushkiki Incorporated
• Matawa Health Cooperative Incorporated
• Keewaytinook Okimakanak

Together, these organizations are receiving over $5.2 million in provincial support and have already attached 121 per cent of their primary care targets. Residents in Thunder 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.

"As we work to connect everyone to primary care by 2029, our government is protecting Ontario's health-care system by investing in new and expanded primary care teams in Ontario communities, including Thunder Bay, that will keep families healthier while relieving pressures on emergency departments," said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. "We encourage those looking for a new primary care clinician to sign up for Health Care Connect, 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. The waitlist has been reduced by 99 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.

"Access to primary care is essential to keeping people healthy and reducing pressure on our health-care system. Thanks to the hard work of local health-care providers, more than 11,000 people in Thunder Bay have already been connected to care," said Kevin Holland, MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan. "Since 2022, our government has invested over $340 million in local health care, helping strengthen services, support frontline workers and improve access to care across our region. Today's announcement builds on that commitment and will help ensure even more residents can access the care they need, when and where they need it most."

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.

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