A bold, unsettling trend is unfolding in Canada’s health-care workforce: nursing and personal support positions are disappearing faster now than they did seven years ago. A new Statistics Canada analysis shows vacancies for nurses and personal support workers have tripled from 2016 to 2024, with remote areas bearing the highest gaps.
Key findings show the overall vacancy rate for health-related occupations rising from 2.1% in 2016 to 5.8% in 2024. Among health-care workers, nurses and personal support workers accounted for the largest share of vacancies, with licensed practical nurses reporting a 12.8% vacancy rate.
Vacancies are more common in urban centers overall, but remote regions exhibit almost twice the gap: 9.3% in remote areas versus 5.5% in accessible regions. Remote locales also experience longer gaps, with a majority of vacancies lasting 90 days or more. In 2024, 61.8% of registered nurse vacancies and 62.3% of licensed practical nurse vacancies in remote regions were long-duration roles.
Interestingly, wages tell a nuanced story. Registered nurse vacancies in remote areas offered an average hourly wage of $37.49, higher than the $35.66 typical in urban regions. Licensed practical nurses in remote regions earned about $31.53 per hour, compared with $29.59 in accessible regions. By contrast, personal support workers faced slightly lower wages in remote regions ($22.63) than in accessible areas ($23.91).
In related health-care news, a separate report from the Generation Squeeze Lab at the University of British Columbia argues that the number of doctors in Canada has surged far beyond population growth. The study, titled The Doctor Shortage Myth, notes a 195% increase in physician numbers since the 1970s, outpacing population growth that rose 76% over the same period.
Back in 1976, Canada had 33,727 physicians (about 144 per 100,000 residents). By 2024, the physician headcount had risen to 99,555, equating to roughly 241 physicians per 100,000 residents. Yet access to health care still feels strained for many Canadians, according to Paul Kershaw, a University of British Columbia professor and lead author of the study.
The core argument is clear: the bottleneck isn’t merely the number of doctors. It’s the combination of aging demographics driving higher demand and governments missing opportunities to fund health care earlier in the boom years. Boomers, now entering high-use ages, require significantly more medical care, amplifying the load on an already stretched system. The study also points out that physician hours have not kept pace with this rising demand. While doctor numbers have grown, total hours spent by physicians have increased at a slower rate, contributing to persistent access challenges.
Professional load varies by role. The Canadian Medical Association notes that doctors collectively work substantially longer hours than the average Canadian: family doctors average about 52 hours per week, specialists about 53 hours, and surgeons around 62 hours, with administrative duties absorbing roughly 15 of those hours weekly.
The situation is further complicated by burnout: surveys from the CMA in 2021 reported that more than half of doctors experienced burnout, and nearly half contemplated reducing their hours during the COVID-19 pandemic.
These findings highlight a health-care system in transition: staffing gaps in nursing and support roles, coupled with a physician workforce that has grown quickly but not proportionally to demand or work hours. This tension raises urgent questions about how to align salaries, hours, and staffing strategies with the evolving needs of Canadians.
What do you think are the most effective steps to close these gaps: increasing funding for remote-region staffing, reconfiguring work hours to reduce burnout, or expanding training and recruitment pipelines for both nurses and doctors? Join the discussion in the comments with your perspectives and ideas.
