Ontario’s healthcare leaders are saying out loud what frontline providers have been experiencing for years: team-based primary care cannot expand if healthcare teams cannot recruit and retain staff.

The new 2026-27 pre-budget submission from the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario clearly identifies the growing workforce crisis in primary care teams across Ontario. It highlights:
• Vacancy and turnover rates reaching 40% annually in many teams
• Wage gaps of 15–30% compared to other sectors
• Funded healthcare positions sitting empty because teams cannot hire or retain staff
• Only 19% of promised retention funding released so far

https://www.afhto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/AFHTO-Pre-Budget-Submission-2026-27.pdf

Importantly, AFHTO is emphasizing that solving Ontario’s healthcare crisis requires investment beyond physicians alone. Team-based care depends on nurses, social workers, pharmacists, physiotherapists, and Registered Dietitians working together so patients can receive the right care earlier — before ending up in overcrowded emergency departments.

This is exactly why this petition matters.

Ontario already announced funding for primary care expansion. But without addressing retention, compensation gaps, and unfilled positions, healthcare teams cannot grow — and patients continue waiting for care.

We need policymakers to recognize that allied health professionals are not optional extras in healthcare. We are part of the solution.

If you believe in stronger primary care, prevention, chronic disease management, and sustainable healthcare in Ontario, please continue sharing and signing this petition.

Together, we can help ensure healthcare investments actually reach the frontline teams caring for Ontarians every day.

#OntarioHealthcare #PrimaryCare #TeamBasedCare #RegisteredDietitians #AlliedHealth #HealthcareWorkers #PreventiveCare #HealthHumanResources