Ontario is expanding access to family doctors, nurse practitioners and team-based health services in Kitchener-Waterloo as part of a $3.4-billion provincial strategy aimed at connecting every resident with primary care by 2029.
Premier Doug Ford highlighted the initiative during a visit to Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo, one of nearly 200 teams receiving funding through Ontario’s Primary Care Action Plan. The organization received more than $1 million through the 2025–26 funding round and began attaching patients to care in August 2025.
Since then, Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo has connected nearly 3,000 patients, reaching almost 140 per cent of its original target of 2,115.
“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 Kitchener, 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 a family doctor, nurse practitioner or primary care team by 2029.”
Three Kitchener-Area Primary Care Teams Receive Provincial Support
Three primary care organizations in the Kitchener region have collectively connected nearly 7,700 patients under the provincial plan. Along with Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo, funding is supporting the Waterloo Region Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic and New Vision Family Health Team.
Together, the three organizations are receiving more than $3.2 million in provincial funding and have already reached nearly 98 per cent of their combined primary care attachment targets.
“As we continue working 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 Kitchener, 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.”
Primary Care Action Plan Targets Two Million More Patients
Ontario appointed Dr. Jane Philpott to chair its Primary Care Action Team in October 2024, with a mandate to connect every Ontarian with primary care by 2029. The province subsequently established its Primary Care Action Plan in January 2025, backed by more than $3.4 billion in funding.
The plan is expected to connect approximately two million additional people with primary care by 2029. Two funding rounds for new and expanded teams have resulted in 199 successful applicants, with those projects expected to connect 800,000 more people across Ontario.
“Investments in primary care teams like Community Healthcaring, the Waterloo Region Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic and New Vision Family Health Team are connecting thousands of families to primary care in Waterloo Region,” said Mike Harris, MPP for Kitchener—Conestoga. “Connecting people with family doctors, nurse practitioners and care teams means better access to care, where and when it is needed, and less pressure on local emergency rooms. I want to thank our local primary care teams for being leaders in their dedication and for the important role they play in our community.”
Ontario Expands Health-Care Workforce and Digital Records
The latest funding round includes 124 successful applicants for new or expanded primary care teams. Those teams are expected to connect another 500,000 patients, including people currently on the Health Care Connect waitlist.
Ontario is also advancing a provincewide Primary Care Medical Record system intended to better integrate patient information, reduce clinicians’ administrative workload and improve coordination between health-care providers.
The province says more than 20,000 physicians have been added to Ontario’s health-care workforce since 2018, including an increase of more than 14 per cent in family doctors. Ontario has also introduced measures intended to make it easier for U.S.-licensed nurses and board-certified physicians to practise in the province. In 2025, more than 2,300 nurses and 570 doctors from the United States chose to practise in Ontario.
Local Providers See Long-Term Benefits for Waterloo Region
“Our government’s continued investment in our region ensures we stay focused on reducing waitlists and more people in the Kitchener-Waterloo area have access to primary care. Our community has a strong network of dedicated health-care professionals, and this funding builds on their ability to expand their reach, providing timely and comprehensive care to those who need it most.”
– Jess Dixon
MPP, Kitchener South—Hespeler
“People in Cambridge and across our region deserve timely, convenient access to primary care close to home, and that’s exactly what these investments are helping deliver. Seeing local primary care teams already connect thousands of patients to care is encouraging progress toward our goal of ensuring every Ontarian has access to a family doctor, nurse practitioner or primary care team by 2029.”
– Brian Riddell
MPP, Cambridge
Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo Chief Executive Officer Tara Groves-Taylor said the funding has enabled the organization to connect more than 3,000 people while expanding collaborative care across the region.
“Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo is deeply grateful for the opportunity to lead primary care expansion alongside the KW4 Ontario Health Team, Family Health Organizations and Family Health Teams across our community. Through this investment, we have connected more than 3,000 people to primary care, while strengthening trusted relationships, collaborative partnerships and pathways to care that will continue to benefit our community well into the future. This funding has enabled us to reach individuals who may otherwise have remained without access to primary care and the benefits of comprehensive, team-based services. Beyond connecting people to care, this investment is helping us collectively build a stronger, more connected and sustainable primary care system in Kitchener-Waterloo. We are incredibly appreciative of the government’s investment and confidence in this work. Together, we are strengthening our local health system, improving access to care and creating meaningful, lasting impacts for the people and communities we serve.”
– Tara Groves-Taylor
Chief Executive Officer, Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo
The Kitchener-Waterloo expansion forms part of Ontario’s broader effort to strengthen community-based health care while reducing pressure on hospital emergency departments. The province maintains that expanding interdisciplinary primary care teams will be central to reaching its goal of universal primary care access by 2029.