Canada Faces Persistent Immigrant Nurse Employment Gap

Statistics Canada reports that credential barriers prevent foreign-trained nursing professionals from working at full capacity.

Updated on Oct. 28, 2026 in Nursing Jobs

Canada Faces Persistent Immigrant Nurse Employment Gap

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Should Canada simplify the recognition of foreign medical credentials to address the national nursing shortage?

Statistics Canada data from 2025 reveals a significant employment mismatch where internationally trained health workers struggle to find roles matching their qualifications. While 62 per cent of recent immigrant licensed practical nurses hold bachelor's degrees, they frequently face hurdles to licensure.

Why it matters

Professional licensing standards act as the primary mechanism for meeting national requirements, yet they currently exacerbate critical staffing shortages. These institutional barriers keep highly qualified professionals from addressing the 67,900 vacancies in the health-care sector.

In 2025, 12.3 per cent of licensed practical nursing positions remained vacant, while the overall health-care vacancy rate reached 4.5 per cent. Registered nurses earned an average of $46 an hour compared to $33 for practical nurses.

The players

Statistics Canada

This is the national statistical agency responsible for producing statistics that help Canadians better understand their country, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture.

The details

Employers continue to struggle with filling nursing roles as they require local licensure for foreign-trained staff. This creates a disparity where only 36.5 per cent of immigrants with nursing degrees work as registered nurses, compared to 87.4 per cent of those with domestic degrees.

2016: Health occupations accounted for 7.4 per cent of employment.
2019: Licensed practical nurse employment showed no net growth.
2021: Census data captured immigrant education levels.
2023: Health-care vacancies reached a peak of 90,700.
2025: Statistics Canada data showed nursing vacancy rates.

Market Landscape

The current employment mismatch persists due to Canadian professional licensing standards, which define how internationally educated workers enter the health sector. This structural barrier maintains a divide between available labor and institutional requirements, limiting the integration of immigrant talent.

The vacancy rate for licensed practical nurses at 12.3 per cent indicates that patients may experience longer wait times and reduced access to care across the country. Addressing these employment gaps is vital to ensuring that hospitals and clinics have the staffing levels required for basic health services.

The takeaway

Recognizing the disparity between the skills of immigrant nurses and domestic workforce needs is essential for future policy reform. Policymakers must focus on streamlining credentials to allow highly educated professionals to support the 1.7 million people already in the health workforce.