Ground-breaking new report reveals Canada can't train enough doctors and other health professionals. Unless we dramatically change how we do things.

OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 31, 2025 /CNW/ - As the health ministers met in Halifax over the past few days, the federal government released the first detailed report on the gaps in the health care workforce and the data lays bare the extent of the issue. 

This in-depth study, conducted by Dr. Geneviève Moineau, Chief Medical Workforce Advisor, Health Canada, points to Canada's considerable lag in workforce planning compared to its OECD peers as well as the negative impacts of this inattention:

• With the 2023 OECD average number of new graduates at 14.2 per 100,000 population, Canada is at the bottom of the pack, producing 7.5 new doctors per 100,000 people with only Japan, Korea and Israel lagging behind
• There is currently a deficit of 22,823 between supply and demand for family physicians in Canada, and only approximately 1,300 new graduates per year. At this rate, Canada will never solve the existing physician shortage

This sobering study reinforces the Canadian Medical Association's (CMA) long-standing advocacy on the shortage of family physicians, the challenges specific to rural care and the disparities of care for Indigenous peoples. These new figures validate the severity of the situation.

We endorse the report's themes about modernizing education, training, and data. Resolving the physician and health provider shortage will require Canada to act more quickly, do more and leverage the expertise already available.

In doing so, we must ensure that we are not overburdening our healthcare providers. These solutions need to be implemented now and must focus on retention and recruitment of health professionals. Solutions include:

• Adopting team-based care as the main model of primary care across the country
• Eliminating time-consuming and repetitive administrative tasks
• Embracing new technologies, such as AI to streamline administrative tasks and enhance patient care
• Connecting all point of care to empower patients with their health information and streamlining inter-connectiveness between providers
• Supporting and investing in virtual care within the publicly funded system

The CMA will be bringing this crucial report to provincial and territorial medical associations as well as other health system partners. We will also be calling all parties in this year's federal election to act on this issue. Leaders can no longer look away.

This report should be the last of its kind. From now on, let's move from studies to action so we can see real change take place.

Dr. Joss Reimer
CMA President

SOURCE Canadian Medical Association

To schedule an interview or for further information, please contact: CMA Media Relations: [email protected]; Elena Gabrysz, 514-839-7296; Eric Lewis, 506-566-1671