Moving Primary Care Beyond Crisis – What Should Canadians Expect From Our Elected Officials?

Canada’s primary care system is in crisis – one that has been building across the country for many years. Lack of access to family doctors and other primary care professionals leaves many Canadians with limited options for consistent longitudinal care. At the same time, the rate of family physician growth has slowed from three percent to one percent, which has further exacerbated the crisis.

Today, 6.5 million Canadian adults lack access to a primary care professional they can see when they need care. The evidence is clear that without primary care, people have worse health, rates of preventable diseases go up, and costs to the healthcare system increase. Disproportionally impacted are newcomers to Canada, lower income, people with disabilities or that belong to underserved groups such as Indigenous communities.

Across levels of government, jurisdictions have tried and tested strategies to tackle the shortage of physicians and access to primary care and many others are in flight to address innovative models of team-based care, licensing and training, as well as recruitment and retention.

With 2025 provincial and national elections pending in Canada, what should Canadians advocate for from their elected officials, how can we ensure policy and funding commitments are tied to strong patient outcomes and accountability, and how will we close existing gaps in primary care to improve the health and well-being of all Canadians?

Join us on March 6 at the Empire Club of Canada to hear from Dr. Joss Reimer, President of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) who will highlight the key challenges and options to close the gap in primary care. Dr. Reimer will sit down with Dr. Dominik Nowak, President of the Ontario Medical Association and Dr. Ojistoh Horn, President, Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada for a discussion and solutions for elected officials in jurisdictions across Canada. The session will be moderated by Kelly Grant, Health Reporter at The Globe and Mail, who will lead the discussion on key healthcare issues.