OttawaThe group representing family doctors in the Outaouais says nearly 40,000 people could lose their primary physician next year as Quebec’s Bill 2 takes effect.Over 55,000 people in the Outaouais don’t have a family doctor, according to regional health authorityNathan Fung · CBC News · Posted: Dec 05, 2025 3:07 PM EST | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The group representing family doctors in the Outaouais said 41 doctors are set to leave their practices in January. (David Donnelly/CBC)The group representing family doctors in the Outaouais says nearly 40,000 people could lose their primary physician next year as Quebec’s Bill 2 takes effect.The Département territorial de médecine familiale de l’Outaouais told Radio-Canada that 41 doctors plan to leave their practices in 2026, which would leave 36,900 people without a family doctor. An additional 51 doctors are considering leaving, the group said, which would impact an additional 47,700 patients.Not all of those patients will be left without care, as some may have access to a family doctor group, known in French as a Groupe de médecine de famille (GMF).In October, the province passed Bill 2, a health-care law that links the compensation of physicians to the number of patents they see. The province said the incentive will accelerate the treatement of patients, but critics say it’s causing doctors to abandon their practices in the Outaouais in favour of working in Ontario.The regional health authority for western Quebec, Centre intégré de santé et des services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO), added that as of the end of October, 55,331 people in the region have neither a primary physician nor access to a GMF.The region had a population of over 400,000 as of 2021, according to Statistics Canada.Doctors leavingGatineau resident Denis Filion learned recently his family doctor closed his practice due to Bill 2, the Quebec health-care legislation that links the compensation physicians get to the number of patents they see. (Maxim Saavedra-Ducharme/Radio-Canada)The impending exodus has some residents worried their health-care needs won’t be met. That includes Denis Filion, who learned his family doctor closed his practice this month. Filion is a diabetic and has had 12 strokes in the last two years. He said he needs check-ups every month, so the loss of his family doctor has him worried.”I’m panicking a little bit because I don’t know what to do,” he said.”I’m 65 years old. In my family, my uncle, my dad, my grandpa, they all die at 60. My dad died at 65, you know. I don’t wanna die.” Filion says his doctor cited Bill 2 for his departure. He adds he doesn’t blame his doctor for wanting to leave, and is also considering moving to Ontario as a result.Repeal Bill 2, critics sayFor critics of Bill 2, the numbers from the Département territorial de médecine familiale de l’Outaouais shows that their fears of an exodus of doctors from the region have come to pass.The new law sends a poor signal to doctors and makes it harder for people to get health care, according to André Fortin, the Liberal Member of the National Assembly for the Pontiac.”If you just got a letter in the Outaouais that you are losing your doctor, your chance of getting a doctor in the next couple of months is zero,” he said. “This is going to push people to either not go to the doctors at all or go to the emergency room. And Lord knows that is not what people should be doing.” Jean Pigeon, spokesperson for the health care advocacy group SOS Outaouais, has been asking for the Quebec government to repeal Bill 2. (Rockedouard Bosquet/CBC)Jean Pigeon, the spokesperson for the group SOS Outaouais, which advocates for better health-care funding for the region, said the exodus of doctors has had a pronounced effect on the area due to it’s proximity to Ontario. “Bill 2 is basically asking doctors to perform at a certain level but without any new resources … they don’t mind doing it in another province where resources seem to be more available,” said Pigeon, who is calling on the province to repeal the legislation. “We’ll be left as a population without frontline workers that can support the health-care needs of our region .”ABOUT THE AUTHORNathan Fung is a reporter with CBC Ottawa, with a strong interest in covering municipal issues. He has previously worked as a reporter in Hamilton and Edmonton. You can reach him at nathan.fung@cbc.caWith files from Anne-Charlotte Carignan
Thousands of Outaouais residents could lose their doctor next year as doctors look to leave the region
