Ontario Connecting 4,845 More People to Primary Care in Brockville and Mallorytown Areas

MPP Clark thanks partners while announcing $2.1 million investment to bring the province one step closer to connecting everyone in Ontario to primary care by 2029

Brockville — As part of its Primary Care Action Plan to connect everyone in Ontario to a publicly funded family doctor or primary care team by 2029, the Ontario government is investing $2,129,300 this year to connect up to 4,845 people to primary care in Brockville, Mallorytown and surrounding communities.

Steve Clark, MPP for Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, made the announcement today with John Jordan, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health, and the partners who submitted the successful proposal.

“I want to thank the many community health-care partners involved for their vision, hard work, and advocacy with me to make today’s amazing news announcement possible,” said MPP Clark. “Connecting 4,845 patients to a primary care provider is a promise made and promise kept and builds on the record funding our government is providing to our local hospitals. I’m proud to deliver this investment and remain committed to continue working to improve healthcare services in Leeds and Grenville.”

In collaboration with the Lanark, Leeds & Grenville Ontario Health Team, Rideau Community Health Services, Country Roads Community Health Centre, and ConnectWell Community Health, have received funding through a recent call for proposals to support connecting residents 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.

“This investment is an important step in supporting the collaborative work of the Lanark, Leeds Grenville Ontario Health Team to expand team based primary care and improve access to timely, integrated care for patients and families, closer to home. Together, we are creating more opportunities for people to receive the care they need, when and where they need it, by delivering more coordinated, patient centred services and strengthening system integration,” said Morgan Hawn, Executive Lead, Lanark, Leeds & Grenville Ontario Health Team.

“This funding supports our interprofessional care teams to continue and expand their vital work in our communities. This investment is a cornerstone for sustainable primary care, and allows us to continue attracting dedicated professionals, and to better support the needs of our communities,” said Michele Bellows, CEO, Rideau Community Health Services.

“This funding moves us closer to the shared goal of ensuring everyone has access to primary care. By working collaboratively across the system, we can connect more people who have been waiting for care and strengthen access for the communities we serve,” said Kerri Choffe, Executive Director, Country Roads Community Health Centre.

“Our primary care teams are supporting the increasing number of individuals with COPD and lung health issues in our region. This funding will allow us to expand our teams’ reach in Lanark, Leeds & Grenville (LLG) to further support integrated primary care in the region. We are happy to be part of this collaborative expansion of team-based care in LLG to provide more people the care they need close to home,” said Sarah Sark, Chief Executive Officer, ConnectWell Community Health.

The investment is part of the government’s Primary Care Action Plan that will help connect 500,000 people to primary care this year. Through the 2026 Budget, the province is increasing overall funding for the plan to a total of $3.4 billion between 2025 and 2029.

The province has also exceeded its 2025-2026 attachment goal under the Primary Care Action Plan, which was to connect 300,000 patients to a primary care provider by March 31, 2026. As of January 1, 2026, the province has already attached 330,000 people to care in 2025-2026, surpassing its goal by more than 30,000.

“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 Leeds and Grenville, 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.

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 per cent 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 per cent increase in family doctors.