Foreign doctors take Canadian training spots, leaving behind overwhelmed system

Canadian medical students who train abroad are finding themselves locked out of practicing medicine in their home country, with many taking their skills elsewhere.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Canadian medical students who train abroad are finding themselves locked out of practicing medicine in their home country, with many taking their skills elsewhere, while foreign students fill training spots in Canada.

During a House of Commons health committee, medical licensers, a Canadian medical student advocacy group and a Canadian who was shut out of his field after studying abroad called on the federal government to reform the immigration and health licensing program.

Advocates noted Canada’s healthcare system has been chronically overwhelmed and understaffed, ranking nearly last among other universal healthcare systems internationally. Yet, federal immigration policy prioritizes international students over thousands of Canadians ready to work.

“There are 3,500 of us (Canadian medical students) studying abroad. 800 graduate every year. Last year…181, and we’ve had as low as 119 of those 800 apply to come back to Canada,” Rosemary Pawliuk, president of Canadians Studying Medicine Abroad, testified. “Not because they don’t want to, but because the barriers are so significant and we’re so unwelcome.”

Last week, internationally trained doctors who have already immigrated to Canada and hope to work in their fields noted similar licensing and bureaucratic barriers which prevent them from working to alleviate the overwhelmed system.

According to a SecondStreet.org study, at least 15,474 Canadians died while waiting for care between April 2023 and March 2024. The group estimated the real number may exceed 28,000.

Scott Alexander, a Vancouver man who studied medicine in Australia in 2017, said only two of his cohort of 60 Canadian students at the University of Queensland School of Medicine returned to Canada to practise.

Alexander said he was led to believe he would be able to work in Canada after his education. However, after being turned away from residency jobs — which are a requisite for licensure — and changing rules to resident-level examinations, he has been unable to work as a doctor in his own country.

He said international medical students on visa programs contribute to capacity restraints on residency and observership programs, which are essential for Canadians to secure medical jobs at home.

He urged the Liberal government to “remove bottlenecks” and “capacity restraints” caused by international students and to “restore predictability” in assessment and licensing. He added this would “expand supervised clinical training capacity so qualified internationally trained Canadians can complete the final steps that are required in Canada.”

In response to a question by Conservative Health Critic Dan Mazier, Pawliuk noted the federal immigration department permits international students to take training spots in Canada “without Labour Market Impact Assessments.” This means they don’t have to prove a Canadian wouldn’t take that spot.

She said most international students are sponsored by their governments to train in Canada but are contractually obligated to return home after their studies, which most do. Pawliuk also noted the federal government has ignored requests and advice from the Society of Canadians Studying Medicine Abroad, highlighting the issue.

Pawliuk said most international students in Canada benefiting from residency and observership jobs are from Saudi Arabia. She noted 1,117 Saudi students, sponsored by their government and bound to return to their country, are training in Canada.

Mazier asked why the federal government approves work permits for foreign doctors to train under the Visa Trainee program when many denied Canadian applicants would gladly take the jobs and stay in the country. Pawliuk said Canada should first ensure qualified Canadians get the jobs.

She said “we know” the policy came at the request of Ontario faculties of medicine and was “supported by others,” as each foreign physician is charged about $100,000 per application. She said the faculties earn millions of dollars annually from foreign students, and the money can be used at their discretion.

“They’re using taxpayers’ resources and our trained doctors to train these foreigners so that they can then have a lot of extra money for the purposes that they want, whether it’s research or whatever,” Pawliuk said. “I’m not against them making money. What we’re having a struggle with is that Canadians are literally dying. They’re not able to get back to work. They’re losing their homes…as a result of that.”

Liberal MP Eric Eyolfson disputed the concept that the spots for foreigners are taking up spots for Canadians. Pawliuk denied the narrative, saying that despite not being funded by Canada, the foreign students still take up training capacity that could otherwise be given to doctors who would stay in Canada.