Our new government recognizes the crucial front-line role that family doctors play in delivering health care in Newfoundland and Labrador. On World Family Doctor Day, the Provincial Government is proud to announce that it intends to work with the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association to begin the process of formally recognizing family medicine as a specialty in this province.
Having family medicine as a specialty would:
- Recognize that family doctors are highly skilled, educated, and dedicated health care providers.
- Emphasize the importance of primary care to both individuals’ overall health and to the sustainability of the province’s health system.
- Reward the time, patient complexity, and administrative work that family doctors manage.
The Provincial Government is also taking action to fulfill its election commitment to make Newfoundland and Labrador the place where family doctors want to build their careers. We will deliver on our commitment to address overhead for fee-for-service family doctors working outside Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services facilities.
This initiative delivers on key commitments in Budget 2026: Opportunity for All of Us which includes better health care, lower taxes and safer communities. More detailed information on Budget 2026 is available here.
The current Memorandum of Understanding with the NLMA was signed in September 2025 and included an increase of 17.5 per cent for family medicine and a total for all physicians amounting to $240 million over the four-year life of the agreement. The next negotiations will begin in June 2027.
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“Family doctors are at the heart of community medicine. They manage one-off ailments and chronic conditions across all ages, serve as guides to more specialized care, and provide compassion as we go through life’s milestones. Our government is proud to take steps to support family doctors in their vital work.”
Honourable Lela Evans
Minister of Health and Community Services
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Learn more
Budget 2026
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