Ontario Connecting More Than 7,000 People to Primary Care in Dufferin-Caledon

May 2, 2026

Over $2.8 million investment brings the province one step closer to connecting everyone in Ontario to primary care by 2029

DUFFERIN COUNTY — The Ontario government is taking the next step toward delivering its Primary Care Action Plan, which is on track to connect everyone in the province with 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 more than $2,835,900 this year to connect up to 7,022 people in Dufferin-Caledon to primary care.

“Our government is taking action to improve access to primary care for families in Dufferin-Caledon,” said Sylvia Jones, MPP for Dufferin-Caledon. “With this investment, we are connecting more than 7,000 residents to a family doctor or primary care team, ensuring people can access the care they need closer to home.”

Dufferin Area Family Health Team (DAFHT) is a collaborative primary healthcare organization that currently supports patients of primary care providers in Dufferin County and a group in Bolton. Identified as the fund holder for this expansion funding locally,  DAFHT, in partnership with our local Ontario Health Team (OHT), was funded 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.


“This funding approval is a positive step for Dufferin Caledon, providing a scaled but meaningful opportunity to strengthen team-based care across the Hills of Headwaters Collaborative Ontario Health Team (OHT). In partnership with the OHT, the allocation supports immediate expansion of DAFHT programs and services, development of a local hub, enhanced Care Days clinical offerings, and a dedicated team to support patient attachment and collaboration with primary care providers. While an initial step, it moves us closer to ensuring all residents have access to team-based primary care. As we move forward, we will actively explore further opportunities to broaden our partnerships for even more collaborative service delivery and rapid patient attachment across Dufferin Caledon.”

  • Lianne Barbour, Executive Director of the Dufferin Area Family Health Team.

“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 Dufferin County, 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 percent 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 percent increase in family doctors.

Media Contact

Office of MPP Sylvia Jones

180 Broadway, 3rd Floor, Suite A, Orangeville, ON L9W 1K3

Karol Jakubczak – Constituency Assistant

Karol.jakubczak@pc.ola.org

1-800-265-1603