A Growing Problem: Is Canada’s Healthcare System Keeping Up with Newcomers?
Lauren Eastman, Sukhy K Mahl, Shoo K Lee
Abstract
Summary: Canada’s population growth is ranked amongst the world’s highest, with the annual number of newcomers to Canada more than doubling over the last decade – from 686,000 in 2014 to 1,540,000 in 2023. Federal policy indicates sustained growth over the coming years. The newcomer demand for health human resources, including family physicians, specialists and registered nurses, far out-strips new supply in recent years, leading to a shortage of 1,122 family physicians, 690 specialists and 8,538 registered nurses in 2022. Immigration and healthcare resource policies should work in tandem to ensure the healthcare shortage facing Canadians is not exacerbated.
Authors credentials and affiliations:
- Lauren Eastman, BMSc, MD, CCFP, Family Physician, Assistant Professor and Assistant Program Director (Urban family medicine residency program) Department of Family Medicine University of Alberta
- Sukhy K. Mahl, MBA, Assistant Director MiCare Research Centre Mount Sinai Hospital
- Shoo K. Lee, MBBS, FRCPC, PhD, DHC, OC, Professor Emeritus University of Toronto, Honorary Staff Physician Mount Sinai Hospital
Correspondence: Dr. Shoo K. Lee, Department of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai Hospital, 19-231M, 600 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 1X5, shoo.lee@sinaihealth.ca
Disclosure: Although no specific funding has been received for this study, organizational support was provided by the Maternal-Infant Care Research Centre (MiCare) at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. MiCare is supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Team Grant (CTP 87518). The funding agency had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the data; preparation, review or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
Competing interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare.
Status: Peer reviewed.
Submitted: 26 JUN 2024 | Published: 15 JUL 2024
Citation: Eastman, Lauren; Mahl, Sukhy K; Lee, Shoo K (2024). A Growing Problem: Is Canada’s Healthcare System Keeping Up with Newcomers? Canadian Health Policy, JUL 2024. https://doi.org/10.54194/NEBL4084. canadianhealthpolicy.com.
