CLOSER LOOK: How bad is Ontario’s doctor shortage? There’s a map for that

Closer Look

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In cities and towns across Ontario — and at Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill — our journalists work for you. Their mission is to dig for answers and tell you what they find.

This new feature — ‘Closer Look’ — is a chance to hear directly from those dedicated reporters and editors.

Every night, Village Media’s Scott Sexsmith sits down with one of our journalists to explore an important story they are covering. These in-depth conversations go beyond the headlines, helping viewers better understand how we gather the details that land in your local news feed.

On tonight’s episode of ‘Closer Look’: Mapping out Ontario's doctor shortage.

Eliot Frymire is part of a research group that investigates and analyzes primary care in Ontario. Using OHIP billing information, the researchers painstakingly drill down into postal code-based data to find out how many people have a regular source of primary care, what type of care they're getting, and where they're getting it.

His takeaway: "We have a crisis everywhere."

Using that data, The Trillium team at Queen's Park created a map that reveals just how widespread the problem has become.

SEE: Here's where the primary care crisis is hitting Ontario hardest

Some examples? In 2022, the year of the most recent data available on a geographic basis, nearly half of all residents in Sioux Lookout weren't getting regular primary care. Near both Toronto's and Ottawa's city halls, it's about one in three. The same goes for Petawawa in eastern Ontario and a portion of Mississauga near the Pearson International Airport.

Reporter Jack Hauen of The Trillium joins us to break down the data. You can read his previous coverage HERE.

Stay tuned for more episodes of ‘Closer Look’ every weeknight at 7 p.m. ​You can find all our previous segments HERE.

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