Health · Healthcare & Policy · 9 hrs ago
P.E.I. health minister says doctor recruitment has been underwhelming
Prince Edward Island Health Minister Cory Deagle said the province's physician recruitment has been underwhelming during questioning in the legislature.
More than 30,000 Islanders are still waiting for primary care, despite a promise to connect everyone with a doctor or nurse practitioner by April 2025.
The province says it has recruited 24 physicians so far in 2026, including six family doctors and 18 specialists.
Deagle said it is not realistic to expect every Islander to have their own practitioner, and the province wants patients to be cared for by a team through a patient medical home.
The number of people on the patient registry has fallen by about 5,000, and Deagle said Health P.E.I. has made progress over the past eight months.
He also acknowledged that hip and knee replacement waits can exceed two years and described the province's wait times as among Canada's worst.
Deagle expects progress in the coming months as the province works with health-care groups to develop the team-based model.
Prince Edward Island Health Minister Cory Deagle described physician recruitment as “underwhelming” during questioning in the legislature.
He said it is not realistic for every Islander to have their own practitioner and that the province wants to connect patients with care teams through patient medical homes.
More than 30,000 Islanders are still waiting for access to primary care, despite a pledge to eliminate the patient registry by April 2025.
The province said it recruited 24 physicians in 2026, including six family doctors.
Deagle said the patient registry had fallen by about 5,000 people.
- Who
- P.E.I. Health Minister Cory Deagle discussed physician recruitment and primary care access. Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly asked about Islanders waiting for care.
- What
- Deagle called physician recruitment “underwhelming” and said the province is moving toward patient medical homes.
- When
- Wednesday, November 4, 2026.
- Where
- In the P.E.I. legislature.
- Why
- McNeilly asked about Islanders waiting for access to primary care.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Then-premier Dennis King promised to eliminate the patient registry by April 2025.
The promised deadline to eliminate the patient registry passed, and more than 30,000 Islanders were still waiting.
The province said it had recruited 24 additional physicians, including six family doctors.
Deagle described recruitment as underwhelming while answering questions in the legislature.
- Physicians recruited in 2026
- 24
- Family doctors recruited in 2026
- 6
- Specialists recruited in 2026
- 18
- Islanders still waiting for primary care
- More than 30,000
- Patient registry reduction
- About 5,000 people
What people are saying
Our recruitment has been underwhelming
The idea that everyone is going to have their own practitioner … is just not realistic
we can't just use the excuse that it's bad everywhere