The federal government has announced the introduction of a new category in the Express Entry system, which will be available to doctors who have obtained their medical education outside Canada. The aim of the initiative is to help solve the staffing crisis in the healthcare system.
Immigration Minister Lina Metcalf Diab said the country needs additional specialists:
“We see the state of our emergency rooms, we hear from families who have been looking for a family doctor for months, and we know how exhausted frontline medical professionals are.”
The new selection process is aimed at doctors who have at least one year of Canadian work experience gained in the last three years.
A statement from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says the program “provides these doctors with a clear path to permanent residence in Canada to fill critical staffing gaps in the health care sector and ensure the reliability of the health care system.”
Candidates selected under this category will receive expedited processing of work permits—up to 14 days. The government is also reserving 5,000 federal spots (separate from provincial nomination quotas) so that provinces and territories can submit their candidates from among licensed doctors who already have job offers.
According to the OurCare 2025 survey conducted by a team of doctors and researchers at St. Michael's Hospital led by Tara Kiran with the support of the Canadian Medical Association, approximately 5.9 million Canadians do not have access to primary care.