Ontario Is Putting Another $100 Million Into Fertility Care. Here’s What That Could Mean for Families

Ontario is expanding its fertility funding again, announcing a new $100 million investment in the Ontario Fertility Program for the 2026/27 fiscal year. The province says the money will help more families access publicly funded fertility services, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI) and fertility preservation. It’s part of a larger three-year commitment that totals $250 million.

For patients, the promise is more capacity in a part of the health-care system where timing can matter a lot. According to the province, the funding will support 27 fertility clinics across Ontario, including two new IVF clinics in Brampton and Oakville, and is expected to help about 10,000 families access care.

Dr. Marjorie Dixon, founder and medical director of Anova Fertility, says the expansion could have an immediate effect on how quickly patients get help. “This expansion is truly transformative for patients. It immediately improves access, inclusivity, and timeliness of fertility care across Ontario.”

She says that, in practical terms, the additional funding means more funded IVF cycles, more clinics, and shorter wait times. “We’re expanding the system’s capacity so that thousands more patients each year can access care they may not have been able to afford or access, in a timely way before,” she says. Dixon adds that the biggest difference for families may be felt in the day-to-day experience of getting treatment started.

“What matters most to me, as a physician, is what patients experience: faster access to consultations, fewer delays to treatment, and the ability to receive care closer to home,” she says. “In fertility care, timing is everything, and delays can have real consequences, so improving access is critical.”

The latest announcement builds on a landmark $250 million fertility-care investment first announced in 2024. Demand for care continues to rise: infertility affects nearly one in six Canadians, and treatment can be costly, stressful and difficult to access—especially outside major urban centres.

Dixon called the current funding expansion an affirmation that fertility care is essential health care. “Their continued support allows us to provide best-in-class fertility care for patients immediately, more fairly, and with the compassion they deserve,” she said in Anova’s press release.

What services are covered?

The Ontario Fertility Program funds a range of services, including:

• IVF
• IUI
• Fertility preservation

Ontario also introduced the Ontario Fertility Treatment Tax Credit for the 2025 tax year. The refundable credit covers 25 percent of eligible fertility-related expenses up to $20,000, for a maximum annual credit of $5,000.

What’s still missing?

Dixon says the funding is significant, but she also pointed to gaps that still affect families trying to get care. “This is an important and meaningful step forward, but a truly equitable fertility-care system must go further," saying that patients still face barriers tied to income, geography and the cost of medication and additional services. “To me, equity means that access to fertility care is not determined by your postal code, your income, or your identity.”

A more equitable system, she says, would include broader coverage for medications and additional fertility treatments, along with continued investment in underserved and rural communities.

For families navigating infertility, this announcement could mean a better chance of getting care sooner, but it doesn’t eliminate every cost or access issue overnight. Still, it puts more public funding into a system where faster treatment can make a real difference.

This article was crafted with the assistance of an AI language model. The final content was reviewed and edited by a human and reflects the editorial judgment and expertise of Today's Parent.