Canada Invests $86 Million to Enhance Recognition of Healthcare Credentials

Canada is injecting an additional $86 million into 15 nationwide projects to strengthen its ability to acknowledge foreign credentials for about 6,600 internationally-educated health professionals. Health Minister Mark Holland emphasizes the importance of addressing labor challenges in healthcare through the support of federal funding, facilitating the entry of new workers, and retaining existing ones.

Key Initiatives of the Funded Projects:

• Streamlining foreign credential recognition processes.
• Offering relevant Canadian work experience for internationally-educated healthcare professionals.
• Providing wrap-around supports such as childcare, transportation, mentoring, and coaching.
• Facilitating labor mobility between jurisdictions to reduce barriers.

This funding targets crucial occupations like nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, laboratory technicians, and respiratory therapists. Internationally trained midwives can now take exams virtually before arriving in Canada, fostering efficiency.

Jim Lai, President of the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry, expresses enthusiasm for the federal support, especially for programs expediting the qualification and licensing of internationally trained dentists. With the Canadian Dental Care Plan and increased immigration policies, the aim is to provide dental care access to marginalized populations and integrate skilled dentists into the healthcare workforce.

Canada’s Foreign Credential Recognition Program Aims To:

• Develop and strengthen foreign credential assessment and recognition capacity.
• Improve labor market integration outcomes for skilled newcomers.
• Support interprovincial labor mobility.

Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault emphasizes the program’s compassionate and effective role in expanding Canada’s workforce. With 90,000 unfilled healthcare positions in Q2 of the previous year, the government’s commitment of over $200 billion over a decade addresses labor shortages and supports healthcare improvements.

This funding aligns with Ottawa’s broader efforts, including the Settlement Program managed by Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), to integrate newcomers into Canadian society.