Ontario Cuts Primary Care Waitlist in Half, On Track to Connect All Ontarians by 2029

Province’s Primary Care Action Plan making major progress toward universal access

TORONTO – The Ontario government has reached a major milestone in its effort to connect every resident in the province to a family doctor or primary care team. As part of the $2.1 billion Primary Care Action Plan, the province has reduced the Health Care Connect waitlist by half, marking significant progress toward its goal of ensuring every Ontarian has access to primary care by 2029.

Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones confirmed the milestone this week, emphasizing that Ontario remains on track to fulfill its initial commitment — connecting all 235,000 people who were on the waitlist as of January 1, 2025 to a family doctor or care team by spring 2026.

“By reducing the Health Care Connect waitlist, our government is keeping our commitment to connect everyone in Ontario to primary care,” said Jones. “We’re going to continue delivering record investments and improvements to Ontario’s health-care system so we can connect everyone in the province to primary care by 2029.”

The Health Care Connect (HCC) program pairs Ontarians without a family doctor or nurse practitioner with primary care providers in their community. Ontario Health Teams, local Primary Care Networks and Ontario Health atHome Care Connectors have been working in collaboration to match patients with available care.

🚨NEW

Our government committed to connect the 235,000 people on the Health Care Connect waitlist as of Jan 1, 2025 to primary care by spring 2026.

That waitlist has now been reduced by half, and we are on track to hit our initial commitment next spring.https://t.co/rCIHXaBUsc pic.twitter.com/iiVVym1wlo

— Sylvia Jones (@SylviaJonesMPP) October 15, 2025

Building momentum through record investments
Dr. Jane Philpott, Chair of Ontario’s Primary Care Action Team, praised the progress made so far, calling it a clear sign of success:

“Reducing the Health Care Connect waitlist from January 1 by over 50 per cent is a major milestone and demonstrates tangible progress in connecting more people to ongoing care,” Philpott said.

Over the past year, Ontario has made record investments to expand access to family doctors and nurse practitioners. This includes:

• $235 million announced in June 2025 to fund 130 new and expanded primary care teams, connecting more than 300,000 people.

• An additional $250 million announced this fall to add 75 more teams, connecting 500,000 Ontarians.

• $22 million over two years to help Ontario Health Teams attach new patients to care and ensure they have up-to-date health records and screenings.

These efforts have already started producing results, with many new and expanded care teams now accepting patients.

A plan for connected, convenient care
Ontario’s Primary Care Action Plan aims to connect two million more people to primary care by 2029. The plan is part of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, which focuses on making high-quality health care available closer to home.

Since 2018, Ontario has added nearly 20,000 new physicians, including a 14% increase in family doctors. The province is also making it easier for U.S.-licensed nurses and doctors to practise in Ontario — with nearly 1,400 nurses and over 260 physicians already making the move this year.

As Ontario continues to invest in its health-care system, the government says these measures will ensure sustainable, accessible, and high-quality care for generations to come.

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