'It's a terrifying time for women and women's doctors'
Canadian healthcare recruitment agencies are reporting 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.
Specifically, Nova Scotia Health has received 35 inquiries from U.S. doctors since late November – just after the U.S. election, says Brendan Elliott, a public affairs officer for the organization, in a CTV News report.
And more than half of those inquiries have come from female physicians, many of whom are in active discussions about relocating.
At a recent medical recruitment event in Cleveland, Ohia, Andrea Lowen, a recruiter for the Middlesex London Health team, spoke to roughly 200 U.S. doctors about opportunities in Canada.
"They were very excited. I think it got them thinking … it wasn’t on their radar before," she told CTV News.
Lowen has since pushed for a targeted advertising campaign in the U.S. to attract even more healthcare professionals.
British Columbia’s healthcare recruitment agency, BC Health Match, has also observed an increase in interest from American doctors, though it has yet to provide exact figures.
This trend could help Canada address its healthcare labour shortages. Canada anticipates a shortage of 78,000 doctors by 2031 and 117,600 nurses by 2030.
Ontario alone will need over 33,000 nurses and 50,000 personal support workers by 2032, according to a previous report.
Why are American doctors looking to move to Canada?
The state of affairs in the U.S. is what’s causing female American doctors to consider a move to Canada, according to the CTV News report.
Among those considering a move is Dr. Kirti Patel, a gynaecologist in the U.S. who said this is the first time she has actively looked into relocating to Canada.
"It’s a terrifying time for women and women’s doctors," she said, citing the criminal charges filed against a New York physician for prescribing the abortion medication mifepristone and Texas’ introduction of a 99-year prison sentence for doctors performing "illegal" abortions.
Patel says she has already contacted a women’s health clinic in Quebec and spoken with a physician recruiter in Ontario.
"I don’t think we are far from women losing the kinds of rights we fought long and hard for in the past," she told CTV News.
Attack on DEI initiatives in U.S.
Dr. Joyce Johnson, a pathologist in Nashville, said that she has been reviewing Canadian job postings for the first time in her career.
"I have a lot of concerns about the future," she said in the report, adding that women, despite being the majority of the population, are increasingly categorized under diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
"We’re suddenly a special minority. That’s crazy, horrible."
Currently, U.S. President Donald Trump has launched an attack against DEI. Previously, federal employees in the United States were warned of "adverse consequences" if they failed to report colleagues working in DEI roles amid alleged attempts to hide them, according to a NBC report.
Trump has also started a tariffs war against Canada, and Treasury Board President Ginette Petitpas Taylor said that the Canadian government is “going to respond appropriately” should the tariffs actually come into place, according to a report from The Canadian Press (CP) posted in CTV News.
Job seekers from outside Canada have previously shown far greater interest in coming to work in the country, according to a previous Indeed report.
And in deciding where to go, immigrants from India appear to be preferring Canada over the U.S., according to the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP).
