TORONTO — Ontario’s government is advancing health-care capacity in Hamilton with new primary care attachments and major hospital infrastructure upgrades.Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones highlighted the Hamilton Family Health Team on Tuesday as one of nearly 200 teams funded under the province’s $3.4 billion Primary Care Action Plan. The team received $834,200 and has attached more than 2,744 patients since August 2025 — exceeding its target of 2,275 by 21 per cent.The same day, the province broke ground on a $25 million expansion of the emergency department at Hamilton General Hospital, adding 8,500 square feet to serve more than 50,000 annual visitors. The project forms part of a $64 billion, 10-year commitment to more than 50 major hospital projects provincewide..“As we work to connect everyone to primary care by 2029, our government is protecting Ontario’s health-care system by investing in new and expanded primary care teams in Ontario communities, including Hamilton, that will keep families healthier while relieving pressures on emergency departments,” Jones said.Ontario reports nearly 90% of its residents currently have a primary care provider, one of the higher rates in Canada. The Primary Care Action Plan, launched in January 2025, seeks to attach approximately two million more people through new and expanded interprofessional teams.The latest funding round includes 124 successful applicants expected to connect another 500,000 patients. Overall, 199 teams have been approved to help attach 800,000 more Ontarians.Primary care teams typically include physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physiotherapists, social workers and dietitians working together. The government says timely access supports faster diagnosis, chronic disease management and reduced emergency department visits..The Hamilton General Hospital project includes a larger ambulance off-loading area, new triage and observation spaces, upgraded resuscitation areas, additional treatment rooms, improved patient navigation and enhanced infection control. Completion is targeted for 2030.Hamilton General serves as the regional trauma centre for 2.5 million people and provides specialized cardiac, vascular, neurosurgical, stroke, trauma and burn care.“Under Premier Ford’s leadership, the Ontario government is delivering meaningful investments in health-care infrastructure to ensure communities like Hamilton have access to modern, high-quality care,” said Monica Ciriello, MPP for Hamilton Mountain.“Our government is making historic investments in health-care infrastructure,” Jones added.Canadian construction company Chart Construction holds the contract for the Hamilton General project..Since 2018, Ontario says it has added more than 20,000 physicians, including a 14-per-cent increase in family doctors. In 2025, over 2,300 U.S.-licensed nurses and more than 570 board-certified physicians began practising in the province.The government is also investing $281 million in 2026-27 for upgrades at 126 hospitals and 67 community facilities, including over $8 million for Hamilton Health Sciences this year.Residents seeking primary care can register through Health Care Connect at Ontario.ca/healthcareconnect.
