Ontario: the biggest loser in primary care

Data analysis shows 240 family physicians left the profession in 2023 – highest number in recent history and much higher than any other province.

Boris Kralj, 2/14/2025

Ontario’s healthcare system is facing a growing crisis, particularly in family medicine. Increasing administrative burdens, ineffective digital systems, poor compensation, and rising burnout rates are pushing many family physicians toward early retirement or away from comprehensive care. These pressures have dire consequences for patient access, with approximately 2.5 million Ontarians currently without a primary care provider—a number expected to exceed four million in the coming years.

Ontario has about 2.5 million people without regular access to a primary care provider, the so called “unattached” or “orphaned” patient population. This population is expected to grow to be over 4 million people over the next few years. Lack of access to primary care services largely resulted from a shortage of family physicians. The shortage of family physicians, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, has left the province struggling to meet the needs of a growing and aging population with increasingly complex medical conditions. Family doctors are working longer hours under immense stress, with little meaningful support from the government. Instead of addressing the root of the problem, the provincial government attempted to argue in the 2024 arbitration with the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) that Ontario was flush with “lazy” family doctors. Fortunately, this misguided claim was dismissed by the independent arbitrator.

Over the past few years, statements from Ontario’s Premier and Health Minister would have one believe that it was raining family physicians and Ontario was awash with doctors. They often claimed that 10,000 physicians had set up practice in Ontario in recent years. And they continue with misinformation and obfuscation on this issue. However, data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) paints a starkly different picture—one that has been largely ignored by both the media and medical associations.

For the first time in two decades, Ontario experienced a net loss of family physicians in 2023, with approximately 240 leaving the profession in a single year. This decline is the largest in recent history, and while other provinces have faced minor reductions, Ontario stands out as the hardest-hit jurisdiction—the biggest loser!

Read more at Canadian Healthcare Network