“No one should have to leave Port Moody or spend hours in urgent care or the emergency department for healthcare that a family doctor should be able to provide.”

Alexandra Chan, Port Moody Voice candidate for city council

Healthcare Is Provincial. Leadership Is Local

Port Moody has thousands of residents without a family doctor, a basic part of healthcare that everyone should be able to access. Many residents are forced to rely on walk-in clinics, travel outside the community for care, or spend hours waiting at urgent care or the emergency department for health concerns that could have been managed by a family physician.

This is a stressful reality for many families and seniors I speak with in Port Moody. As a nurse, I have seen firsthand the impact that a lack of access to primary care has on people’s health, well-being, and peace of mind. Having a family doctor means more than just getting an appointment, it means continuity of care, prevention, early intervention, and a trusted healthcare relationship.

Our Port Moody Urgent and Primary Care Centre plays an important role in providing same-day care, but it was never intended to replace the long-term relationship residents need with a family doctor. The reality is that the current approach is not meeting the needs of our growing community.

Waiting and hoping that privately established family practices will open, and stay open, is not a long-term strategy. New private clinics would be a welcome addition to Port Moody, but they alone are unlikely to address the scale of the need.

Healthcare is a provincial responsibility, but local governments also have a role to play in advocating for residents, building partnerships, and finding innovative solutions to community needs. So what can Port Moody do?

A New Approach for Port Moody

Port Moody has an opportunity to show strong leadership by partnering with the Province and health agencies to explore a municipally operated family doctor clinic that helps connect residents with ongoing primary care.

This approach is already working elsewhere in British Columbia.

The City of Colwood, a community of approximately 22,000 residents, faced a challenge with many residents unable to access a family doctor. Rather than waiting for private practices to emerge, the City took action by creating a municipally operated clinic that recruits family physicians and connects residents with longitudinal primary care.

Colwood demonstrates what is possible when local government works collaboratively with provincial partners. Ongoing physician services and operational costs are funded through the provincial healthcare system, just as they are in other family practices.

The City helped establish the clinic through an initial investment paid for with reserves (of up to $900,000), not increased taxation. This initial investment supported the work required to launch the clinic, while the operating model is designed to become financially sustainable without creating an ongoing burden on property taxpayers. According to the City, clinic revenues are anticipated to repay the initial investment within five years.

The Colwood model goes beyond simply opening a clinic. The City actively recruits family physicians from across Canada and internationally, offering an attractive practice model that allows doctors to focus on patient care while the City manages the business side of the clinic.

The early results have been encouraging. Since opening in 2025, nearly 2,000 Colwood residents who previously did not have a family doctor have been attached. The clinic is already recruiting additional doctors and looking for a larger space to accommodate future growth.

If this can be done in Colwood, we can explore a similar approach here in Port Moody.

Like Colwood, a clinic here could initially prioritize Port Moody residents without a family doctor. As capacity grows, it could also provide opportunities for residents currently travelling outside Port Moody for primary care to transfer closer to home. This model would also allow the City to actively recruit family physicians to Port Moody—and what a wonderful community we have to offer.

Investing in What Matters

When we talk about value for taxpayers, we need to consider where we choose to invest.

For example, the current Council has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time on planning and consultant reports for proposed multi-million-dollar infrastructure projects tied to managing the impacts of growth.

Those investments can have value, but imagine directing even a portion of that investment toward a tangible community benefit that addresses one of the biggest challenges facing Port Moody residents today: helping establish a family doctor clinic.

Our Commitment

If elected, Port Moody Voice will direct staff to undertake a business case and feasibility study for a municipally operated family doctor clinic, modelled on the Colwood example, within our first year in office. We will work with the Province and health agencies to explore how this approach could work in Port Moody.

As our community grows, we must plan for the services that make Port Moody healthy and livable. Our families, our parents, our children, and every resident deserve access to a family doctor close to home.

Healthcare is provincial, but local leadership can help bring solutions together. With Port Moody Voice at the council table this October, we can take the first steps toward making this vision a reality.

by Alexandra Chan, Port Moody Voice Candidate for City Council

For more information:City of Colwood’s clinic page: colwood.ca/community-services/health-well-being/colwood-clinic

Relevant news coverage:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/colwood-municipal-health-clinic-1.7416840
https://goldstreamgazette.com/2026/07/01/good-problem-to-have-near-capacity-colwood-clinic-searching-for-new-home/
https://tricitiesdispatch.com/doctor-shortage-at-port-moody-urgent-and-primary-care-centre/