06/18/2026
Barrie Today News Release.
Awesome News for Angus and Area !!!
Province invests over $1.5M to connect 4,700 people to primary care.
With this funding, Barrie Community Health Centre will establish process to accept new patients from Angus and area.
On Wednesday afternoon, Simcoe-Grey MPP Brian Saunderson announced the provincial government is taking the next steps to deliver its Primary Care Action Plan, which is on track to connect everyone in the province to a family doctor or primary care provider by 2029.
"ANGUS — This afternoon, Brian Saunderson, MPP for Simcoe-Grey announced that the Ontario government is taking the next steps to deliver its Primary Care Action Plan, which is on track to connect everyone in the province to a family doctor or primary care provider by 2029.
As part of this plan to connect everyone in Ontario to a publicly funded family doctor or primary care team, the Ontario government is investing more than $1.5 million this year to connect up to 4,699 people to primary care in Simcoe-Grey."
“Access to primary care is one of the most important health-care priorities for residents across Simcoe-Grey,” said Saunderson."
“This investment will help more residents in Essa Township and across Simcoe-Grey connect to the care they need, when they need it, while supporting the Barrie Community Health Centre’s efforts to expand services into a growing region. It is an important step toward ensuring more people can access primary care close to home.”
"The Barrie Community Health Centre provides integrated primary health care, health promotion and disease prevention services through a team-based model of care.
As a community-governed, non-profit organization, the centre supports individuals and families in improving their health and well-being while offering programs that strengthen community health.
With this funding, the Barrie Community Health Centre will establish a process to accept new patients from Angus and area.
The Barrie Community Health Centre was funded through the latest call for proposals under the Primary Care Action Plan, with all 124 teams receiving funding expected to connect another 500,000 patients to primary care across Ontario."
Each team has established a plan to attach a high proportion of unattached people in their community, including those on the Health Care Connect waitlist.
Through the 2026 budget, the province is also increasing overall funding for the plan to a total of $3.4 billion between 2025 and 2029.
“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 Simcoe-Grey, 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.
"This funding marks and important step forward in ensuring that everyone in the community of Angus will be connected to a primary care provider so they can receive the care they need, when they need it. We are grateful to our primary care practitioners for their continued dedication and to our partners at the Barrie and Area Ontario Health Team and the Primary Care Network for their leadership and support in advancing this proposal. We also thank Ontario Health and the Government of Ontario for their ongoing investment in primary care," says Christine Colcy, chief executive officer, Barrie Community Health Centre.
"Thank you MPP Brian Saunderson and the provincial government for investing in and recognizing that access to quality health care is essential to a thriving Community. Bringing more health care services local improves early detection and prevention. Local health services also promote equity-ensuring vulnerable and underserved residents receive culturally competent care close to home. We look forward to the success with the very much needed Community Health Centre in Angus, Essa Township," says Essa Township Mayor Sandie Macdonald.
