National survey: 5.9 million in Canada still without regular doctor

Press Release

December 8, 2025

An estimated 5.9 million adults do not have a family doctor, nurse practitioner or primary care team they see regularly, according to the latest OurCare survey, led by Dr. Tara Kiran at Unity Health Toronto in partnership with the Canadian Medical Association.

A follow up to Kiran’s 2022 research, the survey of more than 16,000 people across Canada, shows that while access to care has improved slightly in the last three years, not everyone has experienced equal gains.

Only 74.7% of young people, for example, reported having a regular primary care clinician, compared to 87.7% of respondents 65 and older. Income is another key factor in access to care.

Men (79.4%) and gender-diverse respondents (72.7%) — including transgender men and women, non-binary, gender non-conforming and Two-Spirit — were less likely to have regular primary care than women (83.5%).

And while those with a primary care clinician reported high continuity of care, timeliness is still a challenge. Only 31% said that their clinician or someone from their clinic was available to help with urgent issues after regular hours.

Overall, only 28% of survey respondents were satisfied with how our primary care system is working. “Primary care is the front door to the health system,” says CMA President Dr. Margot Burnell.

“This survey shows that, while we’re making some progress, too many people in Canada, particularly vulnerable populations, cannot access the care they need when they need it. There are solutions — and we need to accelerate action to make them a reality.”

What’s next in the primary care crisis?

For the past four years, the CMA has worked with health care leaders, researchers, patients, policy-makers and government on recommendations for an integrated health workforce plan to meet the country’s shifting population needs.

First and foremost, the CMA is calling for scaled up team-based care at a national level. (The 2022 OurCare survey found that 90% of respondents would be comfortable or very comfortable receiving care from other professionals in a team if their family doctor or nurse practitioner recommended it.)

In addition, the CMA is calling for medical education that prepares students to work in integrated health care settings, a more robust mental health and wellness strategy to sustain the health workforce, a commitment to comprehensive, coordinated health data on the workforce and strengthening Canada’s Indigenous health workforce.

Closing the primary care gap is critical not only for family medicine but for access to health care more broadly. Even amongst those who have a family physician, there are still struggles. The OurCare survey also found among respondents who have a family doctor or nurse practitioner, 13.2% reported traveling more than 30 km to see their clinician. A CMAJ study also found that nearly 13% of patients live farther than 30 km Opens in a new window from their family physician — and that these patients were more likely to visit emergency departments for non-urgent issues. Limited access to primary care clinicians can also mean that those who do have urgent medical concerns are not seen as early as they should be.

The OurCare report reflects data conducted from April 16 to July 30, 2025. To read the full report, click here .

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