Immigration matters in health care

Good communications initiative by IRCC, applied across different sectors. Of course, only emphasizes the positive and not the extra demand that a larger population creates but still useful reference for those covering immigration and other sectors:

More than 1.9 million people work in Canada’s health care sector and many more will be needed in the coming years to ensure continued access to high-quality care.

Over 420,000 workers in the health care sector are over the age of 55, and most of these will be retiring in the next decade or so. In addition, there are existing recruitment challenges from everywhere in Canada for nurses, residential care staff and home health care staff. There’s a clear opportunity for immigrants to play an important role in ensuring there are enough people working in the health care sector.

The sustainability and effectiveness of the Canadian health care system depends on an integrated and diverse workforce. We value the important contribution of immigrants to our health care system and welcome them to Canada!

Claire Betker, RN, MN, PhD, CCHN(C), Former President of the Canadian Nurses Association

Impact of immigration

• Immigrants account for 1 in 4 health care sector workers.
• In Canada, immigrants make up
  • 25% of registered nurses
  • 42% of nurse aides and related occupations
  • 43% of pharmacists
  • 37% of physicians
  • 45% of dentists
  • 61% of dental technologists and related occupations
• More than 40% of newcomers to Canada between 2016 and 2021 who were working in the health care sector were employed in the important areas of nursing and residential care facilities, as well as home health care services.

Unless otherwise noted, all statistics are from the Statistics Canada 2021 Census.

Source: Immigration matters in health care