Canada is facing a critical shortage of nearly 69,000 health care professionals, including doctors, nurses, and other medical staff, according to a new Department of Health report.
Blacklock's Reporter says while the figure represents an improvement from previous estimates, officials warn the shortage remains severe and is expected to worsen in the coming years.
The report, Caring for Canadians: Canada’s Future Health Workforce, described the situation as urgent, emphasizing that the country must take immediate steps to close the gap.
The study, the first of its kind to assess training and education levels across the health sector, found that Canada is currently short 22,823 doctors and 41,584 nurses, along with shortages of pharmacists and physiotherapists.
The impact is being felt most acutely in rural areas, where the availability of family physicians is particularly low.
Researchers cautioned that the shortage will likely grow worse into the 2030s due to population growth, rising disease rates, and early retirements. They called for a better understanding of the workforce to help identify key challenges and develop solutions.
The 68,564-worker shortfall marks an improvement from the 89,995 vacancies reported in a 2023 health department memo. That report noted that health care was the only sector where job vacancies had increased year over year.
Nursing in particular has struggled, with long-term vacancies rising steadily in the years leading up to and throughout the pandemic.
A separate briefing note from 2023 warned that the health care crisis would likely deepen, predicting a 16% decline in the nursing workforce within a year.
Surveys from the Mental Health Commission of Canada indicated that 40% of health care workers reported feeling burned out, and half intended to leave the profession.
While the supply of nurses is increasing, Health Canada said it is not growing fast enough to meet demand. Officials warned that without significant changes, the country’s health care system will continue to struggle with an unprecedented workforce crisis.