Canada’s health system remains short more than 51,000 doctors and nurses, according to a new federal briefing note that shows little progress despite years of warnings about a worsening workforce crisis.A June 20 Department of Health memo said the country lacks over 23,000 family physicians and 28,000 registered nurses, while also struggling with staff burnout and retention. The shortage, though smaller than past estimates of nearly 90,000, was not explained by officials.The note acknowledged that tens of thousands of foreign-trained professionals in Canada are still unable to work in their fields. Of 198,000 internationally educated health workers living here, only 58% are employed in the profession they trained for..Vacancies are especially acute in nursing, with surveys showing 40% of health workers report burnout and half say they plan to quit. The department warned the nursing sector alone could lose 16% of its workforce within a year.Parliament’s health committee reported last year that 4.6 million Canadians had no family doctor and projected a shortage of 117,600 nurses by 2030. Nearly 70% of health spending goes to wages, MPs noted, so any cuts or funding shortfalls directly reduce available staff.The committee urged Ottawa to expand medical school admissions, move to national licensing of doctors and nurses, and recruit more foreign professionals. It also recommended new incentives to draw physicians into family medicine and keep them there.
