The Ontario government is making it easier for Ontario students to become family doctors by expanding the Learn and Stay grant to include family medicine. The grant covers the costs of tuition, books, and other direct educational expenses in exchange for a term of service as a physician in any community across Ontario.
The province is also requiring medical schools to prioritize seats for Ontario residents, helping ensure more doctors who study in Ontario treat Ontario patients rather than leaving the province after their studies.
“Today’s announcement is the latest step in our plan to connect every person in Ontario, no matter where they live, to primary care,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We’re training more family doctors than ever before, helping them live, learn, and stay in Ontario, and we’re helping Ontario students support and remain in our province by prioritizing them for medical school seats in Ontario schools.”
Starting in 2026, the government will spend $88 million over three years to expand Learn and Stay grants for 1,360 eligible undergraduate students who commit to practicing family medicine with a full roster of patients once they graduate. This includes $17.7 million for the 2026-2027 academic year. That will enable the connection of an additional 1.36 million people to primary care based on average attachment rates for family doctors.
"This funding will certainly help to address the critical need for more family doctors but also ensure that bright, dedicated medical students—like those at NOSM University—can continue to live, learn, and ultimately practice here in northern Ontario. This investment will have a lasting positive impact on the health and well-being of our residents, strengthening our healthcare system for years to come," said Paul Lefebvre, the mayor of Sudbury.
“Since it was first introduced in 2023, the Ontario Learn and Stay Grant has helped nearly 7,500 students begin training in priority nursing, paramedicine, and medical lab technology programs,” said Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges and Universities. “Now, we’re taking the grant to the next level – supporting Ontario’s future family doctors so they can provide world-class health care to the people of Ontario.”
Starting in fall 2026 all Ontario medical schools will be required to allocate at least 95 per cent of all undergraduate medical school seats to residents of Ontario, with the other five per cent reserved for students from the rest of Canada.
The government will also review the visa trainee program, which trains international students sponsored by foreign governments, to further protect the training capacity for Ontario students.
