Funding will connect up to 1,300 residents with primary care

The Algoma Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic is set to expand its patient roster after receiving over $500,000 from the province

Sault Ste. Marie’s member of provincial parliament was at a local nurse practitioner-led clinic today to announce funding for more patients to be attached to a primary care provider.

In the announcement, the province is spending $542,300 this year to connect up to 1,325 people to primary care in the city through the Algoma Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic.

The local funding is part of a $2.1 billion Primary Care Action Plan by the province that will help connect 300,000 people across Ontario to primary care this year. Eventually, the province aims to connect everyone in Ontario to a publicly-funded family doctor or primary care team.

“This investment in the Algoma Nurse Practitioners Led Clinic will expand access to primary care, and bring more health professionals to Northern Ontario, ensuring that more patients have a trusted health-care provider close to home,” said Sault MPP Chris Scott in a news release.

“We know how important it is for families in the North to get timely, high-quality care without having to travel long distances. By supporting the recruitment and retention of medical professionals and investing directly in our local health teams, we are protecting the health of Ontarians, strengthening our communities, and building a stronger, healthier province for the future,” Scott said.

“The Algoma NPLC looks forward to continuing to work with the Ministry of Health and our local partners to ensure every resident in our region is attached to a primary care team and receives the high-quality, continuous care they deserve,” said Dominic Noel, executive director for the clinic.

“We remain optimistic that future investments will further bolster our efforts and help us to fully close the gap for unattached patients in Sault Ste. Marie and the surrounding area.”

The full press release from Scott’s office can be seen below:

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 $542,300.00 this year to connect up to 1325 people to primary care in Sault Ste. Marie.

This investment is part of the government’s Primary Care Action Plan that will help connect 300,000 people to primary care this year. 

Nurse Practitioner Led clinics are an innovative model for delivery of comprehensive primary health care in Ontario and Canada. The model is designed to improve access to care for the thousands of individuals and families who do not currently have a primary health-care provider.

The Algoma Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic will establish a process to accept new patients and will communicate this to their local community. 

“Through Ontario’s Primary Care Action Plan, our government is taking real action to strengthen health care in every corner of the province, including right here in Sault Ste. Marie. This investment in the Algoma Nurse Practitioners Led Clinic will expand access to primary care, and bring more health professionals to Northern Ontario, ensuring that more patients have a trusted health care provider close to home. We know how important it is for families in the North to get timely, high-quality care without having to travel long distances. By supporting the recruitment and retention of medical professionals and investing directly in our local health teams, we are protecting the health of Ontarians, strengthening our communities, and building a stronger, healthier province for the future.” said Chris Scott, MPP for Sault Ste. Marie

The Algoma Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic was 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 funding is a crucial endorsement of the team-based care model we champion. It will allow us to expand our services and welcome more residents who are currently without a primary care team. We are deeply grateful for the Ministry of Health’s continued support and their recognition of the urgent need in our community,” said Dominic Noel, executive director NP Lead MN NP-PHC.

“This is a monumental step in the right direction, and we are hopeful that it signals the beginning of sustained investment in our region’s health-care system. The Algoma NPLC looks forward to continuing to work with the Ministry of Health and our local partners to ensure every resident in our region is attached to a primary care team and receives the high-quality, continuous care they deserve. We remain optimistic that future investments will further bolster our efforts and help us to fully close the gap for unattached patients in Sault Ste. Marie and the surrounding area,” Noel said.

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.