Health workforce: Supply and direct care
December 17, 2024 — Understanding changes and disparities in the total number of available health care workers, including those actively employed and those potentially available for work, gives an initial overview of the availability of providers to meet the needs of the population. This section of the report explores the supply of health care providers and the proportion involved in direct patient care. While monitoring supply is important, additional data on factors such as distribution, utilization and demand is required to ensure that health care needs are met effectively.
Overall supply trends
In 2023, family physicians were among the top 5 largest groups of in-scope health professionals. Registered nurses (RNs) (n = 321,971) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) (n = 140,285) continued to be the largest groups, at 43.5% and 18.9% of all selected health care providers, respectively. This was followed by social workers (n = 55,376 [2021 data]; 7.5%), family physicians (n = 48,264; 6.5%) and pharmacists (n = 48,312; 6.5%).
Family physician numbers continued to increase; RNs and LPNs led as largest professional groups
Total supply (N)
| Health care providers | 2014 | 2019 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family physicians | 40,781 | 46,131 | 48,264 |
| Nurse practitioners | 3,966 | 6,160 | 8,999 |
| Registered nurses | 289,320 | 300,680 | 321,971 |
| Licensed practical nurses | 108,026 | 126,957 | 140,285 |
| Registered psychiatric nurses | 5,689 | 6,042 | 6,700 |
| Pharmacists | 38,059 | 43,744 | 48,312 |
| Physiotherapists | 20,804 | 25,149 | 28,966 |
| Occupational therapists | 15,977 | 18,906 | 21,331 |
| Dietitians | 7,948 | 8,984 | 9,368* |
| Midwives | 1,207 | 1,588 | 1,700* |
| Paramedics | 22,449 | 23,466 | 24,519* |
| Psychologists | 12,791 | 13,262 | 13,682* |
| Psychotherapists | — | — | 11,142* |
| Social workers | 40,609 | 50,137 | 55,376* |
Notes
* Supply in 2021 is presented instead of 2023 (2022 and 2023 data was unavailable at the time of analysis).
— Data is unavailable, does not exist or is suppressed due to data quality issues.
Registered psychiatric nurse data excludes the Yukon.
Physiotherapist data excludes Prince Edward Island, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Dietitian data excludes Prince Edward Island, Quebec, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Midwife data excludes Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Paramedic data excludes Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (included data covers about 65% of paramedics).
Psychologist data excludes Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (included data covers about 70% of psychologists).
Psychotherapist data excludes Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Social worker data excludes Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
In Ontario, licensed practical nurses are also referred to as registered practical nurses.
Sources
Health Workforce Database, Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Scott’s Medical Database, Canadian Institute for Health Information, with raw data provided by Owen Media Partners Inc. (© 2024 Canadian Medical Directory).
Population Annual Estimates, Centre for Demography, Statistics Canada.
Over the past decade, the total number of providers as well as the ratio of providers to the overall population increased, particularly among family physicians, nurse practitioners (NPs), LPNs, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, pharmacists, social workers, dietitians and midwives. Among NPs, the supply per 10,000 population more than doubled from 1.1 in 2014 to 2.2 in 2023. The supply of LPNs also increased, from 30.5 per 10,000 population in 2014 to 35 per 10,000 population in 2023.
Supply of nurse practitioners, one of the smallest professional groups, doubled in size over the last 10 years
Multi-panel area charts depicting the supply of selected health care providers per 10,000 population over time (2014, 2019, 2023). Increases among family physicians, NPs, LPNs, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, midwives and social workers are statistically significant.
Supply per 10,000 population
| Health care providers | 2014 | 2019 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family physicians* | 11.5 | 12.3 | 12.0 |
| Nurse practitioners* | 1.1 | 1.6 | 2.2 |
| Registered nurses | 81.6 | 80.0 | 80.3 |
| Licensed practical nurses* | 30.5 | 33.8 | 35.0 |
| Registered psychiatric nurses | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.2 |
| Pharmacists* | 10.7 | 11.6 | 12.0 |
| Physiotherapists* | 5.9 | 6.7 | 7.3 |
| Occupational therapists* | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.3 |
| Dietitians* | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.2† |
| Midwives* | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5† |
| Paramedics | 8.7 | 8.6 | 8.8† |
| Psychologists | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.7† |
| Psychotherapists | — | — | 4.6† |
| Social workers* | 13.8 | 16.0 | 17.4† |
Notes
* Denotes statistical significance (p<0.025) using the Mann-Kendall trend test.
† Supply per 10,000 population in 2021 is presented instead of 2023 (data from 2022 and 2023 was unavailable at the time of analysis).
— Data is unavailable, does not exist or is suppressed due to data quality issues.
Registered psychiatric nurse data excludes the Yukon.
Physiotherapist data excludes Prince Edward Island, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Dietitian data excludes Prince Edward Island, Quebec, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Midwife data excludes Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Paramedic data excludes Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (included data covers about 65% of paramedics).
Psychologist data excludes Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (included data covers about 70% of psychologists).
Psychotherapist data excludes Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Social worker data excludes Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
In Ontario, licensed practical nurses are also referred to as registered practical nurses.
The registered psychiatric nurse supply per 10,000 population is based on population counts for provinces/territories where they are currently regulated and where complete data was available (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia).
Sources
Health Workforce Database, Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Scott’s Medical Database, Canadian Institute for Health Information, with raw data provided by Owen Media Partners Inc. (© 2024 Canadian Medical Directory).
Population Annual Estimates, Centre for Demography, Statistics Canada.
In the past decade, the average 3-year growth rates of health care providers were generally positive, as total supply continued to increase over time. For family physicians, the average 3-year growth rates slowed from 2.7% between 2015 and 2017 to 1% between 2021 and 2023. Among RNs and registered psychiatric nurses (RPNs), average 3-year growth rates between 2021 and 2023 doubled to 1.8% and 3.1%, respectively (compared with 0.7% and 1.4% between 2015 and 2017). Among NPs, average 3-year growth rates remained steady.
Family physicians growing at a slower pace; nurse practitioner and pharmacist rates remained steady
Average 3-year growth rates (%)
| Health care providers | 2015 to 2017 | 2018 to 2020 | 2021 to 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family physicians | 2.7 | 1.9 | 1.0 |
| Nurse practitioners | 10.0 | 8.2 | 10.4 |
| Registered nurses | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.8 |
| Licensed practical nurses | 3.3 | 3.2 | 2.4 |
| Registered psychiatric nurses | 1.4 | 0.9 | 3.1 |
| Pharmacists | 3.2 | 1.8 | 3.1 |
| Physiotherapists | 3.2 | 4.2 | 3.8 |
| Occupational therapists | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 |
| Dietitians | 2.8 | 2.0 | 2.2* |
| Midwives | 7.2 | 2.9 | 5.2* |
| Paramedics | -0.6 | 3.0 | 1.9* |
| Psychologists | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.3* |
| Social workers | 3.8 | 4.4 | 7.4* |
Notes
* 1-year percentage change from 2020 to 2021 is presented instead of the average 3-year growth rate from 2021 to 2023 (data from 2022 and 2023 was unavailable at the time of analysis).
Registered psychiatric nurse data excludes the Yukon.
Physiotherapist data excludes Prince Edward Island and the Yukon.
Dietitian data excludes Prince Edward Island, Quebec, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Midwife data excludes Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Paramedic data excludes Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (included data covers about 65% of paramedics).
Psychologist data excludes Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (included data covers about 70% of psychologists).
Social worker data excludes Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
In Ontario, licensed practical nurses are also referred to as registered practical nurses.
Sources
Health Workforce Database, Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Scott’s Medical Database, Canadian Institute for Health Information, with raw data provided by Owen Media Partners Inc. (© 2024 Canadian Medical Directory).
Health care providers working in direct care
Overall supply numbers reflect workforce capacity, while examining the number working in direct care roles could show how many providers are actively working on the front lines and may be addressing primary care sector challenges such as growing demand and patient needs.
The number of family physicians working in direct care increased by 20.1% over the past decade (from 29,341 in 2014 to 35,244 in 2022).Footnote i This translates to an increase from 10.8 family physicians per 10,000 population in 2014 to 11.7 per 10,000 in 2022.Footnote i Data on the proportion of family physicians working in direct care is currently not available.
For most other health care providers, the proportion working in direct care remained relatively stable over the last 10 years. The proportion of pharmacists, LPNs, RPNs and occupational therapists working in direct care slowly declined over time. Taken together, the increases in total supply of these professionals along with the declining proportion working in direct care suggests that these providers may be transitioning toward non–direct care roles. Changes among these professionals working in direct care may impact the availability of care and are important to consider in the context of both health workforce supply as well as broader health systems planning.Reference1
Nurse practitioners almost exclusively employed in direct care; proportion of pharmacists decreased over time
Proportion employed in direct care
| Health care providers | 2014 | 2019 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse practitioners | 95.0% | 96.2% | 95.5% |
| Registered nurses | 88.8% | 89.9% | 89.5% |
| Licensed practical nurses* | 96.9% | 95.5% | 94.8% |
| Registered psychiatric nurses* | 87.7% | 85.1% | 83.3% |
| Pharmacists* | 92.3% | 92.4% | 89.5% |
| Physiotherapists | 92.2% | 88.1% | 93.3% |
| Occupational therapists* | 82.4% | 80.1% | 80.0% |
Notes
* Denotes statistical significance (p<0.025) using the Mann-Kendall trend test.
Occupational therapist data excludes Quebec, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Registered psychiatric nurse data excludes British Columbia and the Yukon (included data covers about 50% of the RPN workforce).
Pharmacist data excludes Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, the Yukon and Nunavut (included data covers about 70% of the pharmacist workforce).
Physiotherapist data excludes Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (included data covers about 40% of the physiotherapist workforce).
Licensed practical nurse data excludes Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Nurse practitioner data excludes Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Registered nurse data excludes Prince Edward Island and Manitoba.
In Ontario, licensed practical nurses are also referred to as registered practical nurses.
Sources
Health Workforce Database, Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Related resources
Footnotes
i.
This data is sourced from the National Physician Database (NPDB), Canadian Institute for Health Information, and the Population Annual Estimates, Centre for Demography, Statistics Canada. Family physician data excludes Quebec, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
References
1.
Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Canada’s Health Workforce: Pathways Forward. March 2023.
How to cite:
Canadian Institute for Health Information. Health workforce: Supply and direct care. Accessed April 25, 2025.
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