Ontario Connecting 8700-9575 More People to Primary Care in Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke

October 2, 2025

$3,295,600 investment brings the province one step closer to connecting everyone in Ontario to primary care by 2029.

NEWS October 1st, 2025

RENFREW-NIPISSING-PEMBROKE — As part of its $2.1 billion Primary Care Action Plan to connect everyone in Ontario to a publicly funded family doctor or primary care team, the Ontario Government is investing $3,295,600 this year to connect up to 9575 people to primary care in the Ottawa Valley. This investment is part of the government’s Primary Care Action Plan that will help connect 300,000 people to primary care this year.

“This investment from the province is welcome news for our community. By strengthening primary care, more people across the Ottawa Valley will be able to access the healthcare they need and deserve. I want to recognize the tremendous effort and advocacy that made this funding possible, and I am proud that our community is included in the Primary Care Action Plan.” Said MPP Denault.

“Our government is continuing to take action to ensure residents across Ontario get connected to the care they need, when and where they need it. Thank you to MPP Denault for his unwavering support and leadership and to the West Champlain Family Health Team for building a more connected healthcare system for the people of Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke. Today’s announcement is another positive step forward in our plan to connect everyone in the province to primary care by 2029.” – MPP John Jordan, Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston, PA to the Minister of Health

“Today’s announcement is welcome news for the Ottawa Valley Ontario Health Team and our communities,” said Mike Nolan. “This investment will help thousands more residents connect to family doctors and nurse practitioners, improving health outcomes and easing pressure on emergency departments. On behalf of OVOHT, I thank MPP Billy Denault, MPP John Jordan, and the Government of Ontario for this important local investment.”

“This investment marks an important step forward in strengthening access to primary care across our region,” said Dr. Richard Johnson. “By bringing more family doctors, nurse practitioners, and other primary care team members into the partner clinics, we are working toward connecting up to 9,600 residents with a primary care provider by March 31, 2027. I encourage anyone who does not currently have a family doctor or nurse practitioner to register with Health Care Connect so we can help ensure they are matched with the care they need.”

“We are proud that our collective of seven primary care organizations—Ancient Rivers FHT, ConnectWell CHC, North Renfrew FHT, Pembroke Family Medicine Teaching Unit FHO, Petawawa Centennial Family Health Centre, Rainbow Valley CHC, and West Champlain FHT—has received funding to make a meaningful impact on primary care attachment in our region. A strong primary care system is the foundation of a strong health care system, and we are committed to helping build that foundation here in our community. We would like to thank MPP Billy Denault for his advocacy, the Ottawa Valley OHT for its support, and Ontario Health for recognizing both the need and our ability to deliver for the people of Renfrew County.” – Megan Jamieson, West Champlain Family Health Team

The West Champlain Family Health Team and its partners are funded through a recent call for proposals focused on communities—identified by postal code—with the highest number of residents not connected to primary care, including those on the Health Care Connect waitlist. Each successful team has established a plan to attach a high proportion of unattached people in their postal codes and demonstrated readiness to achieve significant progress within a year.

This investment is part of the more than $2.1 billion the Ontario government is investing to support the Primary Care Action Plan that will add over 300 new primary care teams across the province. This includes $235 million in 2025-26 that in part is supporting over 130 new and expanded primary care teams across the province.

“We are continuing to build on our government’s record investments, which have helped secure Ontario the highest rate of access to a regular health-care provider in the country,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “We are protecting Ontario’s health-care system and people’s access to convenient care by funding new and expanded primary care teams across the province, helping connect everyone in Ontario to a primary care provider.”

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

Interprofessional primary care teams connect people to a range of health professionals that work together under one roof, including registered and registered practical nurses, physiotherapists, social workers, and pharmacists, helping patients to receive more connected and convenient care.
Eligible teams not selected for funding in this round will be encouraged to refine and resubmit their proposals for the next call for proposals, which is expected to launch in September 2025.
Ontario’s Primary Care Action Team, led by Dr. Jane Philpott, will implement its action plan supported by the government’s historic investment of more than $2.1 billion to connect approximately two million more people to a family physician or primary care team by 2029, which will achieve the government’s goal of connecting everyone in the province to primary care.
The Ontario Government recently passed the Primary Care Act, 2025., which establishes primary care as the foundation of Ontario’s health-care system and sets out six clear objectives for Ontario’s publicly funded primary care system to ensure people know what they can expect when connecting to primary care.
In 2024, Ontario invested $110 million in primary care teams across the province, helping to connect 328,000 more people to primary care close to home.

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MEDIA CONTACT
For additional information, please contact
Krystal Moreau, Constituency Assistant
Office of Billy Denault, MPP
613-735-6627
krystal.moreau@pc.ola.org