A family doctor who moves to the city of Niagara Falls, Ont. — pop. 105,000 — will receive a $100,000 signing bonus for opening a new practice.

A short drive away, St. Catharines, the region’s largest city, offers a comparatively meagre $5,000 relocation grant in its bid to attract family doctors.

Up in cottage country, Huntsville provides up to $80,000 to doctors who move to the town to either establish or take over a family medicine practice. The incentive package — which may also include a one-year car lease donated by the community — comes with a swim and skate membership to the town’s community centre and a family pass to Muskoka Heritage Place.

As Ontario grapples with a family doctor shortage, municipalities across the province are shelling out thousands of dollars to lure phys

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