On May 15, Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry MPP Nolan Quinn announced an investment of $5,126,700 to The Seaway Valley Community Health Centre. The investment is expected to connect up to 13,687 residents in the region with publicly funded primary care services. Courtesy Photo

CORNWALL – The Ontario government is investing $5,126,700 to help connect thousands more residents in Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry to primary care as part of its broader plan to ensure every Ontarian has access to a family doctor or primary care provider by 2029.

The funding, announced in Cornwall, will support the Seaway Valley Community Health Centre (SVCHC) and is expected to connect up to 13,687 residents in the region with publicly funded primary care services.

“Protecting Ontario starts with protecting the health of communities like SDG,” said Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry MPP Nolan Quinn. “Through this investment, our government is connecting more than 13,000 people to high quality health care, close to home, so that more families across SDG can live happy and healthy lives.”

The funding is part of Ontario’s Primary Care Action Plan, which aims to expand access to team-based care across the province. The SVCHC currently offers services including medical consultations with doctors and nurse practitioners, nursing care, vaccination clinics, physiotherapy, social work, pharmacy services and virtual consultations.

According to the province, the health centre will develop a process to begin accepting new patients and will provide details to the community once those plans are finalized.

The Seaway Valley Community Health Centre was among 124 teams approved for funding through the latest round of proposals under the provincial action plan. Ontario expects the funded teams to collectively connect another 500,000 people to primary care services across the province.

Erin Killoran, executive director of the Seaway Valley Community Health Centre, said the investment will strengthen collaboration among local health-care providers.

“We are proud to expand interprofessional primary care services in partnership with other primary care organizations in our community,” said Killoran. “This investment reflects the shared commitment of Seaway Valley Community Health Centre, Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie, Glengarry Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic, and Rideau St. Lawrence Family Health Team to improving access to team based primary care for people across our region.”

She added that the organizations hope the additional funding will help create a more connected and responsive health-care system for residents across the region.

The province says it has already surpassed its 2025-26 target under the Primary Care Action Plan. Ontario had set a goal of connecting 300,000 residents to a primary care provider by March 31, 2026, but reported that 330,000 people had already been connected as of Jan. 1, 2026.

Deputy Premier and Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the government’s plan is making progress toward reducing the number of residents without access to a family doctor or nurse practitioner.

“Through our Primary Care Action Plan, we are connecting more people to care and have already exceeded our 2025-26 attachment target,” Jones said. “By connecting more families to care in Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, our government is taking the next step toward connecting everyone in the province to primary care by 2029.”

Ontario says it plans to invest a total of $3.4 billion in primary care initiatives between 2025 and 2029 as part of its broader health-care strategy. The province also reports that the Health Care Connect waitlist has been reduced by more than 87 per cent since the launch of the plan.