Interprofessional Primary Care Teams, Explained: Ontario's $2.1B Bet on Team-Based Care Through OHTs

If one policy structure defines Ontario primary care in 2026, it's the Interprofessional Primary Care Team (IPCT): family physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, physiotherapists, social workers, dietitians and pharmacists working under one roof, funded to attach patients who don't have a regular provider. And the delivery vehicle for the entire expansion is the Ontario Health Team.

How we got here: a rapid timeline

February 2024: Ontario announces $110 million — the first primary care team expansion in more than a decade — funding 78 new and expanded IPCTs to connect up to 328,000 people. The Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario, which had advocated for the funding for a year, noted it tripled the original $30-million envelope. December 2024: the Primary Care Action Team is established under Dr. Jane Philpott. January 2025: the Primary Care Action Plan launches with $2.1 billion behind a promise to attach every Ontarian by 2029. June 2025: $235 million funds 75 proposals representing over 130 new and expanded teams. September 2025: the 2026–27 call for proposals opens for ~75 more teams to attach another 500,000 people. 2026 Budget: total plan funding rises to $3.4 billion through 2029.

“These projects are going to be critical to ensure more Ontarians have access to primary care teams that can provide the wraparound services we know result in better outcomes and faster access to care.”

— Leslie Sorensen, CEO, Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario

OHTs are the front door for funding

Under the current call for proposals, primary care clinicians don't apply to the ministry directly — proposals must be coordinated and submitted through their OHT and its Primary Care Network, with each OHT allotted submissions based on how many residents in its area lack primary care (Indigenous-led proposals excepted). For clinics, that makes the local OHT relationship a funding relationship.

What it looks like on the ground

In Sarnia-Lambton, the province is investing $2.88 million this year to connect more than 5,600 people, through the Rapids Family Health Team and E-nangaabe-jig Health Services — two of 124 teams funded in the latest round.

“By working together across our region, we are continuing to build on our success and ensuring more people can connect to the care they need, when and where they need it.”

— Nadine Neve, Executive Lead, Sarnia-Lambton Ontario Health Team

In Northumberland, the OHT announced in June 2026 that regional partners had secured provincial funding to establish and expand IPCTs after a coordinated attachment push with local physicians, nurse practitioners and Health Care Connect coordinators.

“Access to primary care is the foundation of a healthy community. We are proud of the progress we've made and remain committed to building a stronger, more connected system for everyone in Northumberland.”

— Dr. Fraser Cameron, Primary Care Lead, Ontario Health Team of Northumberland

The scheduling problem IPCTs create (and how to solve it)

Team-based care multiplies the scheduling surface: one patient may see a physician, an NP, a dietitian and a social worker in the same month, each with different appointment types, durations, and eligibility rules. Phone-based booking puts all of that coordination on the front desk. EMR-integrated online booking with per-provider, per-appointment-type rules lets an IPCT expose the right appointments to the right patients — including the newly attached patients these teams are funded to roster — while every booking writes straight into the team's shared schedule.

Sources & further reading

• Ontario — Call for proposals: Interprofessional Primary Care Teams (2026–27)
• Ontario — Primary Care Action Plan: 1-year progress update
• AFHTO — $110 million investment to expand team-based primary care
• Sarnia-Lambton OHT — Ontario connecting 5,600 more people to primary care
• Northumberland 89.7 FM — OHT-N announces landmark in primary-care capacity
• Ontario Health — Funding opportunities for primary care