Other provinces move forward with recruitment program targeting physicians from U.S.
Quebec will not introduce special measures to attract American doctors and researchers, even as other provinces ramp up efforts to lure medical talent from south of the border, according to a report.
The province’s Immigration Department confirmed there are no current plans to launch initiatives aimed at enticing United States-trained physicians to settle in Quebec, according to The Canadian Press.
Similarly, Santé Québec—the agency overseeing provincial health care—stated that no additional recruitment programs targeting American medical professionals are in place.
This is the case even though Manitoba and British Columbia have announced plans to specifically hire doctors from the U.S.
Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan have also already stepped up recruitment efforts for these professionals, according to the CP report posted in the National Post.
Quebec will continue to apply its standard procedures. Doctors who completed their training in the U.S. must meet the regular licensing requirements of Quebec’s College of Physicians and go through the same immigration process as any other international applicant.
Qualified U.S. family doctors may receive Quebec licensure within weeks, provided their documentation is complete. However, the timeline can extend to several months for more complex cases or for specialists whose eligibility must be reviewed by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the college noted, according to CP.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has urged other provinces to follow Ontario’s lead and accelerate the reduction of interprovincial barriers and adopt mutual recognition. They also called on Quebec Premier François Legault to introduce a bill on accelerating interprovincial trade and adopting mutual recognition, according to the CP report.
The number of Quebec patients that have a family doctor has dropped from 82% in 2019 to 73.3% in 2023, according to a previous report from City News, citing research from the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ).
“There is a lack of access and this lack of access, we’re trying to compensate for it through the guichet, which does pay doctors who have holes in their schedule to take on an extra patient. But it’s not a long-term solution,” said Dr. Clifford Albert, Montreal medical director of the Canadian Institute for Laser Surgery, and a clinical instructor at McGill, in the report.
“The average physician age in Quebec is about 60, so doctors are retiring. The proportion of new doctors coming in is less versus the population, which has grown a lot.”
In late 2024, Quebec’s government introduced legislation that would require newly trained doctors to commit five years of practice to the province’s public health system or face steep penalties.
Despite Quebec’s reluctance, the province’s medical licensing body noted a “slight increase” in applications from American-trained doctors and returning Quebec licensees who had previously relocated to the U.S, according to the CP report posted in CTV News.
Some have explicitly cited dissatisfaction with the U.S. political climate — particularly under former President Donald Trump — as a motivating factor, although the college maintains it lacks formal data on applicants’ motivations, according to the report.
Canadian healthcare recruitment agencies previously reported a notable rise in interest from U.S. physicians, particularly women, as political uncertainty and restrictive healthcare policies push more American doctors to consider practising in Canada.
