Ontario sees early signs U.S.-based physicians are relocating to the province

The government previously introduced changes to the registration rules governing physicians and nurses in Ontario, allowing them to work while their qualifications transfer.

The Ford government says it is seeing signs its work to poach health care professionals from the United States after President Donald Trump’s election is showing very early signs of progress.

In the spring, the government introduced changes to the registration rules governing physicians and nurses in Ontario, allowing them to work for up to six months while their qualifications transfer.

Early data suggests more doctors may be flocking to Ontario, although it’s unclear if nurses have taken the province up on its offer.

“There are clinicians, physicians and nurses who, for many reasons, are saying ‘Maybe now is the time to look at a different jurisdiction and a different country,'” Health Minister Sylvia Jones told Global News.

“We have seen, through the licensing, the College of Nurses and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, increased calls — ‘How does it work? How can we get licensed?’ — And of course, now, we’ve also seen the numbers going up.”

Early data from the Ministry of Health shows an increase in the number of physicians from the United States registering in Ontario.

So far this year, Ontario has seen 261 U.S.-based physicians move their registration to the province. Of that number, 101 were added to the system after June 5, when the government made registration changes. That means 39 per cent of the physicians who have moved from the U.S. to Ontario this year have done it since the rules were changed, a period of a little over two months that accounts for 27 per cent of the total time.

Data previously shared by the Ministry of Health suggested less than 250 physicians had been registered from the U.S. to Ontario in 2024, although officials stressed the estimates were preliminary and the data were still being finalized.