FYidoctors Celebrates a Decade of Serving Canadian Communities

Highly skilled eye care professionals. Innovative diagnostic technology. A driven passion to help patients see their absolute best. FYidoctors has seen immense growth in 10 years, and as we celebrate our achievements over the past decade, we look forward to the future.

Motivating Forces

We know that exceptional patient care depends on constant learning matched with advanced technology and devoted, skilled professionals. We also understand that optometry and patient care were built on the trust and remarkable service that has defined our profession. FYidoctors’ optometrists and staff work alongside each patient to help them obtain their best vision; back in 2008, those values were just ideas of what eye care in Canada could look like.

Embodying an entrepreneurial spirit

The pioneer behind the FYidoctors vision of true patient care is Dr. Alan Ulsifer: an entrepreneur who ran an optometry practice in Grande Prairie, Alberta, since 1994. It was there that he began pursuing his vision of merging practices and integrating health care, retail, and manufacturing into a single entity;the first of its kind.

In 2005, Dr. Ulsifer discovered internal freeform lens technology and the software to create them. Recognizing the opportunity to vertically integrate an optometric practice while creating value at the same time, he returned home to Grande Prairie to share his vision with his partners at Northern Vision Centre, one of Canada’s largest independent optometric practices. They then invited 10 other practices to discuss market challenges and opportunities at a think tank in Kelowna, BC.

It wasn’t much longer when, later that year, this collaborative group of optometrists organized the largest corporate merger in Canadian history based on the number of companies involved, by joining forces to create FYidoctors.

Speaking up for Canadians

FYidoctors was founded by some of Canada’s most reputable and respected optometrists. The idea that patients should come before products was something different in Canadian eye care in 2008. The founding eye doctors believed that patients deserved the best eye care they could possibly receive by making sure access to leading-edge technology was available.

FYidoctors believes that eye doctors, and not multinational corporations, should be the ones who define patient care. This belief has taken the company from 30 optometrists with a shared dream, to the world’s largest eye care provider, with over 350 optometrists serving over 180 locations across the country.

The professionals at FYidoctors are respected leaders who come from numerous provincial and national optometric associations and medical institutions to bring their experience, knowledge, and commitment to the company.

Partnering with the right teams

In 2013, FYidoctors announced that it would be joining forces with Vision Source to acquire all their Canadian assets. Vision Source is North America’s largest network of private practice optometrists with approximately 2,800 practices at the time. This merger was designed to create a long-term relationship between the two companies to preserve the independent optometry industry in North America. For FYidoctors, this partnership was a major step in further developing the vision of personalized patient care.

Leading across the country

In 2015, FYidoctors announced its merger with Marchand Giguère Group, an iconic Québecois family optometry business for over 80 years prior. In August 2017, Marchand Giguère Group and its 70 affiliate locations consolidated banners to create a unified brand under the new name Visique, reshaping the face of Québec’s optical industry. By bringing together over 75 leading optometrists in the province, FYidoctors became the country’s largest and fastest growing eye care provider. With more than 40 locations across Quebec, consumers now benefit from advanced diagnostic equipment and fully customized lens technology, as well as a comprehensive selection of top brands (ray-ban, prada, gucci, etc.) exclusive frames, and products.

Creating a future in eye care

The company now has more than 1,800 staff, including about 350 optometrists across more than 180 FYidoctors locations coast to coast. A highly specialized large laboratory, now located in Delta, B.C., manufactures and ships an average of 1,400 pairs a day of technologically advanced glasses or lenses to clinics across the country.

These are just a few of the many ways FYidoctors offers patients complete eye care solutions.

To learn more about how to take care of your vision health, make an appointment with any of our eye care professionals at an FYidoctors location near you.