The funding is earmarked for 15 organizations nationwide, with the primary goal of streamlining the accreditation process for IEHPs.
The funding is earmarked for 15 organizations nationwide, with the primary goal of streamlining the accreditation process for IEHPs.
Canada has allocated a substantial $86 million in funding to expedite the accreditation process for internationally educated health professionals.
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development, and Official Languages, Randy Boissonnault recently addressed the pressing concerns of prolonged wait times and challenges in securing family physicians across the country, the CIC News reported.
The funding is earmarked for 15 organizations nationwide, with the primary goal of streamlining the accreditation process for IEHPs.
The initiative is a response to growing concerns over prolonged wait times and the increasing difficulty in securing family physicians across the country.
The funding aims to address these issues by enhancing the capacity for foreign credential recognition, benefiting approximately 6,600 IEHPs. The investment is expected to provide educated and skilled immigrants with the rightful acknowledgment of their international credentials.
Breaking down barriers
Key highlights of the funded projects include the reduction of barriers by improving recognition processes, simplifying credential recognition steps, and enhancing access to field practice for IEHPs.
Additionally, IEHPs will receive support in gaining relevant Canadian work experience in their respective fields.
The projects will also provide assistance such as childcare, transportation costs, and mentoring/coaching.
Efforts will be made to facilitate the mobility of health professionals and IEHPs between different jurisdictions in Canada, aiming to eliminate barriers for those seeking to work in alternative provinces.
Commitment to healthcare workforce
The announcement follows a commitment made in October 2023 during the Health Ministers’ Meeting, where the Canadian government pledged to take concrete actions to address challenges faced by the healthcare workforce in the country.
The funding will specifically target key healthcare occupations, including nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, laboratory technicians, and respiratory therapy.
Boissonnault cited the importance of honoring newcomers’ professional credentials as a compassionate and effective strategy to expand Canada’s workforce, strengthen the healthcare system, and foster economic growth.
Canada, anticipating record-high immigration levels in the coming years, recognizes the importance of fully utilizing the skills, experience, and talents of newcomers.
Express Entry System prioritizing healthcare
Healthcare occupations have been prioritized through category-based draws in the Express Entry system due to the chronic shortage of healthcare workers in the country.
Last year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada launched category-based draws, with healthcare occupations being one of the prioritized categories.
Data from IRCC revealed that 36 percent of physicians and 25 percent of registered nurses in Canada were born outside the country.
Complementary Budget 2022 initiatives
Foreign-trained medical professionals have faced challenges in obtaining proper licensing in Canada. In support of these initiatives, Budget 2022 had previously allocated $115 million over five years, starting in 2022-2023, and an additional $30 million ongoing for the Foreign Credential Recognition Program.
The program collaborates with provinces, territories, regulatory bodies, and other organizations to fund projects aimed at creating an efficient and faster credential recognition system.
These investments complement the broader efforts of the Government of Canada, including the Settlement Program managed by IRCC, which assists newcomers in settling and adapting to life in Canada, with a specific focus on employment-related services and foreign credential recognition.
IEHP employment statistics
A recent report by Statistics Canada revealed that 58 percent of IEHPs in Canada, specializing in fields such as nursing, medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry, are employed in their respective fields.
Among the 259,694 IEHPs in Canada, 76 percent are employed, compared to 80 percent of healthcare professionals educated in Canada.
The report also noted the growing importance of immigrant healthcare workers, constituting a quarter of the healthcare sector workforce, with expectations of increased numbers as over 500,000 healthcare workers over 55 are set to retire in the next decade.
The study showed that half of IEHPs arrived in Canada during their core working years (ages 25 to 34), with one-third arriving between 2016 and 2021. Two-thirds of IEHPs are under 50 years old, and seven out of 10 are women.
Geographical distribution
Geographically, the majority of IEHPs reside in Ontario (116,310), followed by British Columbia (45,235) and Alberta (42,035), with the fewest numbers in the northern territories and Atlantic provinces.
Regarding education, 63 percent of IEHPs received their education in Asia, while 11 percent studied in English-speaking Western countries.
The study also noted the concentration of Asian-educated IEHPs in Manitoba (75 percent) and the prevalence of Western-educated IEHPs in New Brunswick (21 percent).
Moreover, the report highlighted the diverse occupations pursued by IEHPs, with one-third studying nursing. Physician-trained IEHPs constitute 15 percent of the total, mainly residing in Newfoundland and Labrador, where 74 percent of IEHPs are employed in health occupations.
