Everyone deserves access to high-quality primary care, no matter their background or where they live. That was the message we heard time and again from people across the country.
OurCare was the largest public conversation about primary care in Canadian history. Over 16 months, nearly 10,000 people shared their experiences and ideas for a better system through a national survey, five provincial reference panels and 10 community roundtables. Collectively, they spent more than 10,000 hours in dialogue with us.
Despite their varied backgrounds and geographies, participants found common ground. At the heart of every discussion was a desire to improve access to primary care for everyone.
Altogether, OurCare produced 17 reports. Five were written by members of the public who participated in the provincial panels. Our final report, released in February 2024, brought together insights from across the country and introduced the OurCare Standard – six clear statements that describe what every person in Canada should be able to expect from the primary care system:
- Everyone has a relationship with a primary care clinician who works with other health professionals in a publicly funded team.
- Everyone receives ongoing care from their primary care team and can access them in a timely way.
- Everyone’s primary care team is connected to community and social services that together support their physical, mental and social well-being.
- Everyone can access their health record online and share it with their clinicians.
- Everyone receives culturally safe care that meets their needs from clinicians that represent the diversity of the communities they serve.
- Everyone receives care from a primary care system that is accountable to the communities it serves.
The OurCare Standard is a North Star. It reflects what patients and the public want and provides a practical tool to guide health-care reform and evaluate how well our system is doing.
It’s an ambitious vision – but one I believe is within reach.
To get there, we need to understand where things stand now. Where are we already close to meeting the Standard? Where are the biggest gaps? And how does performance vary across provinces and territories?
That’s why we’ve launched the 2025 OurCare National Survey.
We want to know: How do people’s actual experiences of care measure up to the OurCare Standard?
In 2022, our national survey found that 22 per cent of adults – more than 6.5 million people – did not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner they could see regularly. That number helped galvanize policymakers to take the issue seriously. But how have things changed since 2022?
The 2025 survey once again asks whether people have a regular family physician or nurse practitioner – but it goes well beyond that. It asks about timely access to care, whether people can get care in a language that meets their needs, whether they can access their health records and much more.
This time, we are conducting the survey in partnership with the Canadian Medical Association, with funding and support from several other organizations. These collaborations will help ensure we understand the primary care experience in every province and territory.
Please take the survey – and share it with others.
People across Canada have told us what they want in a better primary care system. This survey will help us understand how far we’ve come – and what still needs to change to make their vision a reality.
The OurCare survey is a research study led by Dr. Tara Kiran at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto and is being conducted in partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. The survey is open to everyone living in Canada age 18 and over. Participation is confidential. It takes approximately 10-15 minutes and is available on-line until July 9, 2025.
