Canada is easing immigration rules for doctors already working in the country, offering them a faster route to permanent residency as it struggles to address a growing shortage of physicians and rising pressure on its healthcare system.
The move comes through a new immigration pathway under Canada’s Express Entry system that targets foreign doctors with Canadian work experience.
The dedicated category, expected to invite applicants from 2026, allows physicians who have worked in Canada for at least one year in the past three years to apply for permanent residency more easily.
The policy reflects a broader shift in Canada’s immigration strategy — focusing on retaining skilled professionals already contributing to the economy and public services.
Addressing a severe doctor shortage
Canada’s healthcare system has been grappling with a significant shortage of doctors, particularly family physicians. Millions of Canadians lack access to a regular primary-care provider, while rural and smaller communities often struggle the most to recruit medical professionals.
The shortage is expected to worsen as the country’s population ages — both among patients and within the physician workforce itself. With many doctors nearing retirement and demand for healthcare rising, governments are under pressure to expand the supply of medical professionals.
Against this backdrop, Ottawa has increasingly turned to immigration to help fill gaps in the healthcare workforce.
Retaining doctors already working in Canada
A key objective of the new policy is to retain international doctors who are already working in Canada on temporary permits. Many of them are practising in hospitals and clinics but face uncertainty about their long-term status.
To address this, Canada has introduced a dedicated Express Entry category called “Physicians with Canadian Work Experience”. Doctors who qualify can receive invitations to apply for permanent residency through targeted draws under the points-based immigration system.
The government has also set aside 5,000 permanent residency spots for provinces and territories to nominate licensed doctors with job offers. These physicians will benefit from expedited work permit processing — often within about 14 days — allowing them to continue working while their permanent residency applications are processed.
Officials say the policy aims to ensure that doctors already treating patients in Canadian communities are not lost because of immigration hurdles.
A step toward stability, not a full solution
Healthcare experts say the measure could help stabilise Canada’s healthcare workforce, though it will not solve the shortage by itself.
Dr Joss Reimer, former president of the Canada Medical Association, said tackling the physician shortage requires not only recruitment but also retention.
“When we’re talking about the doctor shortage, we always need to be thinking about recruitment, training, but also retention,” Reimer said in an interview with CBC News.
She noted that many internationally trained doctors currently working in Canada have struggled with the lack of a clear pathway to permanent residency.
“One of the things we heard from them that was a struggle was any sort of path to permanent residency,” she said. “If we really do want to retain the doctors already here, we need to listen to them and make sure that we’re providing them with the services they need to be able to keep providing services to Canadians.”
However, Reimer cautioned that the new pathway alone cannot address the scale of the challenge.
Even if all the proposed immigration spaces are filled, Canada still faces a substantial shortage of family physicians.
“We’re 23,000 family physicians short in this country. So we need to be doing a lot of other things at the same time,” she said.
Part of a broader immigration strategy
The initiative also signals Canada’s effort to compete globally for healthcare talent while ensuring stability for professionals already contributing to its health system.
Recent immigration draws have already begun targeting doctors under the new category, with Canada issuing hundreds of invitations to physicians with Canadian work experience — at one of the lowest selection score thresholds seen in years.
For policymakers, the logic is clear: retaining doctors already treating patients may be the quickest way to ease pressure on a healthcare system facing rising demand and a shrinking workforce.