Healthcare is one of the five categories of professions prioritized by IRCC. Read here to know how many healthcare workers in Canada are needed. 

Express Entry category-based draws were declared this year. The program’s goal is to choose immigration applicants who have specific qualifications, like work experience, education, etc., which can fill labor market gaps in Canada. 

In addition, IRCC selected five categories which are experiencing labor market gaps. These categories are healthcare, trade, transport, STEM professions, and agriculture. These professions were chosen after IRCC obtained feedback & suggestions from a wide range of stakeholders & public.

Category-based draws are somewhat similar to the standard Express Entry draws. However, while the latter focuses on CRS scores, the former focuses on relevant work experience in selected professions. 

Why Healthcare Is Selected as A Targeted Profession? 

Canada has been facing an acute shortage of healthcare workers, which has caused detrimental effects on emergency as well as primary care. 

For instance, Niagara Health stated that it desperately needed healthcare workers in Canada (Southern Ontario). Moreover, a hospital in Minden, Ontario, had to close the local ER because of the staffing strain permanently. In addition, 180 ER doctors across Calgary wrote an open letter outlining the state of emergency in the city. 

Interestingly, Canada relies on immigration to fill labor gaps/ job vacancies in the healthcare system. In the fourth quarter of last year, there were around 143,695 job vacancies in the Social Assistance & Healthcare sector.  

Moreover, over 36% of physicians & around 25% of registered nurses in Canada were born outside the nation. 

Foreign-trained healthcare workers in Canada can find it challenging to obtain proper licensing. Due to this, IRCC has taken certain measures to make immigration easier for internationally trained healthcare workers in Canada. As a result, this has enabled physicians & other workers to seek work & help fill labor market gaps in the healthcare system.

Requirement Of Healthcare Workers in Canada

ESDC has a tool called COPS. This tool provides information on the professional outlook for different occupations. The tool also calculates the amount of job openings in a specific profession between 2022 and 2031. 

Healthcare professions outlooks include: 

• Registered nurses & psychiatric nurses (155,400)
• Licensed practical nurses (27,8000)
• Family physicians & General practitioners (48,900)
• Specialist Physicians (29,800)
• Supervisors & Nursing Coordinators (23,100)
• Pharmacists (16,100)
• Physiotherapists (14,300)

The number shows that Canada will require to admit thousands of skilled professionals in Canada to fill labor shortages. 

What Opportunities Do Prospective Immigrants Have? 

Sean Fraser stated that healthcare workers in Canada have been working every day to offer world-class care to different communities. He also said that the health system needs more workers to deliver the quality care individuals require in Canada. 

Further, Fraser stated that between 2017 & 2022, Canada welcomed over 21,000 healthcare workers in Canada. In addition, IRCC plans to double this number, thus welcoming over 8,000 healthcare professionals every year. 

Besides the category-based draws, numerous Canadian provinces have already held draws for healthcare professionals via PNP. For instance, Alberta has a designated healthcare pathway under the AAIP. 

Thus, healthcare workers in Canada interested in immigrating might be eligible to come through various immigration pathways. Since there is a demand for healthcare workers, prospective applicants will be able to fill labour market gaps while also having vital & meaningful careers in Canada.