'We're training more family doctors than ever before, helping them live, learn and stay in Ontario'
Ontario is making it easier for local students to become family doctors in the province to help close the remaining 10% gap of people who do not have access to a regular healthcare provider.
The provincial government is expanding the Learn and Stay grant to include family medicine. Starting in 2026, the government is investing an estimated $88 million over three years to expand the grants for 1,360 eligible undergraduate students who will commit to practicing family medicine with a full roster of patients once they graduate. This includes $17.7 million for the 2026-2027 academic year.
The funding will cover all tuition and other direct educational costs like books, supplies and equipment in exchange for a term of service as a physician in any community across Ontario.
“Today’s announcement is the latest step in our plan to connect every person in Ontario, no matter where they live, to primary care,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We’re training more family doctors than ever before, helping them live, learn and stay in Ontario, and we’re helping Ontario students support and remain in our province by prioritizing them for medical school seats in Ontario schools.”
Starting in 2026-27, the expansion will result in approximately 190 additional Ontario residents in first year undergraduate medical education programs annually compared to 2024-25, according to the government.
Previously, Ottawa proposed changes to the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations and Canada Student Loans Regulations to make eligible the loan forgiveness to doctors and nurses working in population centres of 30,000 or fewer.
Medical schools should prioritize locals, says government
Ontario is also requiring medical schools to prioritize seats for Ontario residents. Starting in fall 2026, new legislative and regulatory changes will, if passed, also require all Ontario medical schools to allocate at least 95%of all undergraduate medical school seats to residents of Ontario, with the other 5% reserved for students from the rest of Canada.
This will help ensure more doctors who study in Ontario treat Ontario patients rather than leaving the province after their studies, according to the provincial government.
The government will also review the visa trainee program, which trains international students sponsored by foreign governments, to further protect training capacity for Ontario students.
Also, Ontario is opening two new medical schools at Toronto Metropolitan University and York University and has expanded medical school seats, adding more than 260 undergraduate and 449 residency spots, eventually reaching more than 500 undergraduate spots and 742 residency positions. This is the largest medical school expansion in over a decade.
Since 2018, more than 12,500 physicians have joined the Ontario healthcare system, including a nearly 10% increase in family doctors.
Also, through the Practice Ready Ontario program, up to 100 internationally trained family physicians will be ready to serve in rural areas by the end of 2025-26.
The Ontario government also previously announced plans to expand pharmacists’ role in healthcare by broadening their knowledge and further honing their skills to provide healthcare.
Stakeholders welcome move to improve family doctor workforce in Ontario
Several stakeholders have positive things to say about the recent developments in Ontario.
“Since it was first introduced in 2023, the Ontario Learn and Stay Grant has helped nearly 7,500 students begin training in priority nursing, paramedicine and medical lab technology programs,” said Nolan Quinn, minister of colleges and universities. “Now, we’re taking the grant to the next level – supporting Ontario’s future family doctors so they can provide world-class healthcare to the people of Ontario.”
Currently, nearly 3,800 eligible nursing, medical laboratory technology and paramedic students are training as part of the current Ontario Learn and Stay Grant.
"The addition of Family Medicine to the Province's Learn and Stay Grant program is good news for both Ontario's learners and the healthcare needs of our families and communities,” said Dr. Jane Philpott, dean of Health Sciences, Queen's University. “It provides another valuable incentive for students to choose a career path in primary care and it lays the groundwork for more access to family doctors in underserved and growing communities."
Previously, the Nova Scotia government announced that starting 2025, a new Halifax-based clinic will assess the skills of international medical graduates while the foreign recruits provide primary care to about 2,500 patients in the province.