Faced with a looming shortfall of over 50,000 family doctors by 2031, a new report led by Senators Ratna Omidvar, Stan Kutcher, and Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia suggests Canada could quickly add at least 750 new family physicians annually by funding more residency spots for international medical graduates (IMGs). This includes Canadians trained abroad and foreign-trained doctors.
The proposal calls for a $104 million investment for 2024-25 to expand residency training and the practice-ready assessment program, which helps IMGs bypass lengthy residency requirements. With 6.5 million Canadians currently without a family doctor, the report highlights the urgent need for action, as this number is projected to grow to 10 million by 2031. The senators argue that increasing IMG residency spots is a cost-effective and faster solution compared to building new medical schools, which won’t yield results until the 2030s.
The report also emphasizes the need for federal and provincial cooperation to ramp up training infrastructure and better utilize the estimated 13,000 international medical graduates waiting to contribute to Canada’s healthcare system.
