by Timothy Edward, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé said today that the province is aiming to provide all Quebecers with access to a health professional by the summer of 2026, as part of the new Quebec Health Plan. This deadline lines up with the next scheduled Quebec election.

Getting access to a family doctor for every Quebecer was a CAQ campaign promise when the party was first elected in 2018. Conceding that this was too great of a challenge (a challenge exacerbated by COIVD-19), the government is now including other health professionals, such as nurse practitioners, in their promise of personalized healthcare for all Quebecers.

Dubé, who provided an update on the province’s Health Plan today, said, “We are moving in the right direction.”

“Quebecers are right to want better access to healthcare, and we are working on it every day,” Dubé said. “Today, we presented the advances in the Health Plan that allow us to set a clear, ambitious and realistic goal: to provide the population with care by the summer of 2026. We will work in collaboration with the Federation of General Practitioners and other health professionals to achieve this goal.”

The Quebec order of nurses also announced today that 2,760 new nurses have been added to their ranks.