Yukon NDP will open two public, primary care clinics to get Yukoners off the waitlist
October 21, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2025
Territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta’an Kwäch’än Council, Whitehorse, Yukon – Yukon NDP Leader Kate White announced today that her team will open two new public team-based healthcare clinics to give Yukoners faster access to primary care and reduce the pressure on the emergency room.
According to the Yukon Medical Association, more than 10,000 Yukoners do not have access to primary care. There are currently over 4,000 people on the primary care provider waitlist.
These new clinics, modeled after the successful approach taken in Colwood, BC, will bring together nurse practitioners, doctors, and other important healthcare professionals including social workers to deliver wraparound primary care. Unlike walk-in clinics, these clinics will connect Yukoners with their own team of healthcare providers – so they can get ongoing, consistent primary care when they need it.
“Right now, thousands of Yukoners are stuck on the waitlist for primary care,” said Kate White, Leader of the Yukon NDP. “That means hours sitting in the ER for a prescription, or standing in line at the walk-in clinic for care. You deserve better. As part of our Family Doctor Guarantee, we’ll connect more Yukoners to primary care at these two new clinics, with access to a doctor, an NP and more. These clinics will take the pressure off of our ER and get you better healthcare.”
White was joined by Hilary Smith and Tiara Topps, the Yukon NDP’s healthcare worker candidates, who have both seen the positive effects of team-based care firsthand.
“As a nurse who trained in a team-based clinic, I saw how it changed everything for patients,” said Hilary Smith, Yukon NDP candidate for Porter Creek Centre. “When healthcare providers work together, patients don’t fall through the cracks. It’s collaborative, it’s compassionate, and it’s the kind of care Yukoners deserve.”
Through these clinics, doctors will be offered an alternative pay model with salaried positions as government employees. This model has worked successfully across Canada, making it easier for doctors to focus on caring for their patients instead of the additional paperwork of running a clinic privately. Doctors working at existing private clinics will also be offered more support, as previously announced through the Yukon NDP’s Family Doctor Guarantee.
“Healthcare workers are burning out under a system that’s stretched to the breaking point,” White added. “We can’t afford more of the same. It’s time to make healthcare better – and you can count on the Yukon NDP team to listen and to work as a partner with healthcare workers.
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For more information, please contact:
Heather Stoutenburg
[email protected]
778-868-3861