Ontario’s Auditor General, Shelley Spence, released a critical annual report concerning the province’s efforts to expand access to primary care. The report critically analyzes the government’s roadmap for ensuring every Ontarian has access to a primary care provider. This blueprint, originally released in January 2025, became law with the passage of the Primary Care Act in June 2025.
On October 20, 2025, Sylvia Jones, the Ontario Health Minister could still boldly face the press. She announced her plan through a press conference held in Queen’s Park in Toronto. Specifically at USDOT, she pointed to five key performance indicators during her press conference. These new metrics will now allow the government to measure success against its four-year plan. Spence’s findings reveal significant shortcomings in the government’s approach.
Auditor General Spence called attention to a major red flag. There is no overarching, aligned government framework to meaningfully measure success of the plan’s primary care model. “The government does not have established timelines to collect data,” she stated, highlighting a fundamental flaw in the implementation of the policy.
A subsequent internal analysis conducted by the administration in February 2025 sounded red bells over access to primary care. Perhaps the most alarming trend highlighted by the analysis was… In nearly 70 percent of Ontario Health Teams, more than one in ten people do not have a primary care provider. It may seem bad out there, at least in some areas. Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, and Sudbury, all in northern Ontario, have recently been hit with soaring numbers of residents lacking a physician. On top of that, two neighbourhoods in Toronto showed similar effects.
The federal government’s plan intentionally fills these gaps and aims for every resident to receive primary care services. As Spence’s report highlights, without the right planning, measurement, and coordination, those goals will continue to elude us. The Auditor General of this province reiterated the immediate need for this government to develop a comprehensive plan. This new strategy will be vital to measuring progress and providing accessible, quality primary care to all Ontarians.
