Why Is It So Hard to Find a Family Doctor in Ontario? | The Rundown

The Ontario government says its plan to connect people with primary care is right on track. The government has said it will clear the provincial wait-list by spring 2026. And in this year’s budget, it’s dedicating another 325 million dollars — making the total investment 3.4 billion dollars over four years. The goal is to connect everyone with primary care by 2029. Is that achievable? We discuss the progress that’s been made and what else needs to be done with Dr. Tara Kiran, a family doctor and researcher at St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto and founder and national lead of the OurCare initiative; and Deepy Sur, the CEO of the Ontario College of Family Physicians. 00:00 Intro 0:55 Why reaching 100% access is harder than it sounds 1:34 How team‑based care could expand access 2:38 Is investment fixing the family doctor shortage? 3:54 Can digital tools reduce wait times and burnout? 6:01 Recruiting doctors — incentives, inequities, and shortages 9:31 What needs to change to prevent this crisis from returning About The Rundown: The Rundown is your nightly half-hour deep dive into just one headline. With host Jeyan Jeganathan, we’ll cover everything from housing and health care to climate and AI. We’ll break down why each topic matters, who’s living it, and what’s being done to make things better – starting right here in Ontario. Slow down. Tune in. Make sense of the moment. And tell us what you think. Follow on social media: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/therundowntvo Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/TheRundownTVO X- https://twitter.com/therundowntvo Bluesky- https://bsky.app/profile/therundowntvo.bsky.social Subscribe to TVO Today to watch more content like this: https://www.youtube.com/@tvotoday Listen to the podcast: https://www.tvo.org/podcasts/the-rundown-audio Check out the rest of the TVO ecosystem TVO Docs - https://www.youtube.com/@tvo TVO Kids - https://www.youtube.com/@TVOkids TVO Learn - https://www.youtube.com/@tvolearn Download the TVO Today App Apple - https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/tvo-today/id1616182112 Available on: Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung, LG, Amazon Fire TV Enjoying this content and want to make a meaningful impact? Consider donating today! https://support.tvo.org/site/Donation2?mfc_pref=T&idb=599945504&df_id=16843&16843.donation=form1&DONATION_LEVEL_ID_SELECTED=1661&mfc_pref=T