With Canada’s health care workforce struggling to meet demand amidst staffing challenges, burnout and post-COVID changes, the way Canada recruits internationally-educated health professionals (IEHPs) is under serious review. There is also a great need for data on job vacancies, numbers, and professions of IEHPs. The data below provides some straightforward data points to aid understanding the scope of the issue.
Job vacancies by sector, Q3 2019 to Q3 2022
Source: Government of Canada, Job vacancies, payroll employees, and job vacancy rate by industry sector, quarterly, adjusted for seasonality, September 19, 2023, https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/76defa14-473e-41e2-abfa-60021c4d934b.
IEHPs employed in their field of training
Comparison of Physicians and Nurses Working and Not Working in their Trained Occupations by Place of Birth and Training, 2016
Source: Government of Canada, Temporary Foreign Worker Program Labour Market Impact Assessment Statistics 2015-2022, https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/76defa14-473e-41e2-abfa-60021c4d934b, last accessed 20 July 2023.
The gap in data is due to suspended data collection during COVID-19. Note that while many sectors have recovered after COVID-19, the health and social sector experienced a high level of job vacancies before the pandemic and the number has continued to climb as other sectors stabilize.
In 2023, updated data from the 2021 census showed that there are currently an estimated 259,695 IEHPs in Canada. Of these, 15.2% are physicians and 33% are nurses. The data also confirmed that the majority of these professionals are not being employed in their field of study. While the new census data indicated that 58% of employed IEHPs worked in health occupations, these jobs were only in the minority of cases commensurate with education level.
Comparison of Physicians and Nurses Working and Not Working in their Trained Occupations by Place of Birth and Training, 2021
Source: Government of Canada, Temporary Foreign Worker Program Labour Market Impact Assessment Statistics 2015-2022, https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/76defa14-473e-41e2-abfa-60021c4d934b, last accessed 20 July 2023.
What jobs are IEHPs doing in Canada?
Internationally-Trained Physician and Nurse Professions in Canada, 2021
Source: Government of Canada, Temporary Foreign Worker Program Labour Market Impact Assessment Statistics 2015-2022, https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/76defa14-473e-41e2-abfa-60021c4d934b, last accessed 20 July 2023.
Source: Government of Canada, Temporary Foreign Worker Program Labour Market Impact Assessment Statistics 2015-2022, https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/76defa14-473e-41e2-abfa-60021c4d934b, last accessed 20 July 2023.
When did IEHPs move to Canada?
As immigration to Canada has increased, so has the number of IEHPs entering the country. In order to become licensed as a physician or nurse, individuals must show evidence of recency of practice. As time passes, it becomes less likely that licensure (and therefore work as a physician or nurse) is in reach.
Suggested Citation: National Newcomer Navigation Network, "Internationally-educated health professionals and healthcare job vacancies in Canada", September 2023, https://www.newcomernavigation.ca/en/data/internationally-educated-health-professionals-and-healthcare-job-vacancies-in-canada.aspx