A recent report from Statistics Canada sheds light on the employment status, distribution, and background of internationally educated healthcare professionals (IEHPs) in Canada. Here are the key findings:
Employment Status of IEHPs
- Field of Work: Approximately 58% of IEHPs who trained as nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and dentists were working in their respective healthcare fields in Canada.
- Overall Employment: Among the 259,694 IEHPs in Canada, 76% were employed, compared to 80% of Canadian-educated healthcare professionals. This data includes IEHPs who are not working in healthcare occupations.
Growing Importance of Immigrant Healthcare Workers
- Immigrant Contribution: Immigrants already constitute a significant portion of the Canadian healthcare sector, with a quarter of healthcare workers being immigrants. This number is expected to rise further as over 500,000 healthcare workers are approaching retirement in the next decade.
- Age of Arrival: Half of IEHPs arrived in Canada during their core working years, between the ages of 25 to 34. Nearly one-third of all IEHPs had recently immigrated to Canada between 2016 and 2021. Two-thirds of IEHPs were younger than 50 years old.
- Gender Distribution: Seven out of ten IEHPs in Canada were women.
Provincial Distribution of IEHPs
- Highest Concentration: British Columbia had the highest number of IEHPs at 116,310, followed by Ontario (45,235) and Alberta (42,035).
- Lowest Concentration: Canada’s northern territories and the Atlantic provinces had the lowest numbers of IEHPs. Prince Edward Island had the fewest at 475, while the three territories had 605. Nova Scotia had 3,195 IEHPs.
Educational Background
- Source of Education: 63% of IEHPs received their education in Asia, while 11% studied in English-speaking Western countries. Asian-educated IEHPs constituted 75% of IEHPs in Manitoba, while 21% of New Brunswick’s IEHPs studied in English-speaking Western countries.
Occupations of IEHPs
- Nursing: One-third of IEHPs in Canada studied nursing. The top five occupations among them were registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (34%), nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates (21%), licensed practical nurses (8%), light duty cleaners (2%), and social and community service workers (2%).
- Physicians: IEHPs trained as physicians made up 15% of all IEHPs in Canada, with many of them residing in Newfoundland and Labrador, which also had the highest proportion of employed IEHPs in health occupations (74%).
Addressing Healthcare Labor Shortages
- Job Vacancies: Statistics Canada reported 147,100 job vacancies in the healthcare sector in June this year.
- Potential Contribution: The report suggests that with a substantial number of IEHPs already in Canada, these newcomers could significantly contribute to addressing labor shortages in the healthcare workforce.
- Challenges: Licensing requirements in regulated professions and varying provincial regulations have been obstacles for IEHPs. However, some provinces are taking steps to facilitate the integration of IEHPs into the workforce.
- Express Entry: IRCC has introduced Express Entry categories focused on healthcare professions, with 2,000 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued to healthcare professionals in 2023.
- Physicians’ Eligibility: In October 2022, IRCC made it possible for physicians practicing in Canada as temporary residents to become eligible for Express Entry, a change from the previous self-employed status.
These findings underscore the significant role IEHPs play in Canada’s healthcare sector and the ongoing efforts to leverage their skills to meet the country’s healthcare needs.
