Canada is asking “what’s up doc?” to foreign-trained physicians looking to plant roots.
What happened: Ottawa is adding a new express entry category for permanent residency aimed at foreign-trained doctors. To be eligible, physicians must currently have a job offer and at least one year of Canadian work experience as either a general practitioner, a family physician, a specialist in surgery, or a specialist in clinical and laboratory medicine.
Why it matters: A new study found that 5.9 million Canadians are without a family doctor. That’s a high number to be sure, but it’s actually 700,000 fewer than in 2022, suggesting that recent measures meant to increase the supply of doctors have actually worked.
By targeting foreign-trained physicians — which accounted for a third of doctors in Canada last year — this express entryway could help cut that number even further.
Yes, but: Since the new program is only applicable to physicians who have practised in Canada for one year, this means a large swath of foreign-trained docs aren’t covered: those who live here but aren’t yet licensed due to notoriously long certification processes.
By the numbers: The CEO of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada told the federal government in October there “may be” as many as 13,000 foreign-trained health professionals living in Canada that are unable to work in health care.—QH