which province/place in canada is best to work as a nurse

[sweetsugarrush]

Hello and good day,

I am a new member of this website and I was hoping to find some answers and a couple of advice here. I'm hoping someone could help me. I have been doing some of my research but I know it would be best to know it first hand from those who had their experiences already. This is my story...

I am an internationally trained nurse outside Canada, which means we all know that internationally trained nurses outside of Canada need to process their documents and take examinations to become nurses here in Canada. I currently live in Montreal, Quebec, for the past 10 months I have stayed here and I learned their french language. It wasn't that bad at all cause somehow I learned a new language and the government had given immigrants a subsidized pay for those who want to study french. It wasn't that much per month but I was still grateful because it helped me a bit in my payments. The time I started my french I have also started to process my papers here in quebec to become a nurse. It wasn't that easy cause I had to send some documents back home. Apparently my documents took a long turn in getting to my country d/t bad handling services by POST CANADA so I advice you don't use it if you are in a hurry with important documents even if you are using their express service. Fast track I have completed and submitted all my documents and is now currently waiting for the decision of the nursing body with the next step that I must do.

At this point it has been difficult to find a job in the health services with at least a starting salary of 15-20$/hr. despite the fact that they had given me my education evaluation for which I have studied in a University. I was thinking of moving to an english province and would stop wasting my time here. Luckily I found a job just a week ago and I am working in a residential place for the elderly people, I love what I am doing but the salary is just way too low and I am not making enough hours in the job cause they have other people working too.

So now I am bit confused if I should stay or just move to another place or province. I want to move to a place which has a low unemployment rate, prices for housing are not that expensive, quiet, and the starting salary for health personnel would at least be 20/hr. Anyone here who could help me and tell me which place/province in Canada I could easily find a job and where I could become a nurse with the option for continuing studies too. I also wanted to know of I get my license here in Quebec is it possible for me to apply this license in other provinces in Canada if not what is the process to become a nurse who could work in other provinces like Alberta/Vancouver/Winnipeg/etc.

Thanks

[RNMA15]

You are welcome, Sweetsugarrush! I wish you well- keep on working hard and make use of every opportunity in your way without fear! You have come a long way, and we who have walked in your shoes understand:yes:...

[Kissunshine, BSN, MSN, RN, APN, NP]

It's really hard to find a nursing job in most part of Canada right now, Quebec is actually better off than Ontario or BC. I hear that Alberta have more job opportunities and also offer better pay as well as less taxes, but I'm not sure it will be easy to land a job as a foreign nurse.

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

It's really hard to find a nursing job in most part of Canada right now... I hear that Alberta have more job opportunities and also offer better pay as well as less taxes, but I'm not sure it will be easy to land a job as a foreign nurse.

Alberta is not looking for nurses. AHS is quietly getting rid of nurses and replacing them with nurses' aides. And while it's true Alberta's nurses are paid better than most other provinces and there's only one sales tax, our income tax is a flat 10% of earnings (which only benefits the people making lots of money) and we have horrendously high utility bills (which are a form of tax) and user fees for everything. The cost of living here is higher than in a lot of other parts of Canada.

[bradons]

I almost ended up at Foothills 2 years ago. Had an interview and job offer for a fulltime 12hr shift.

Looked at everything and stayed where I am.

I make less per hour and pay more taxes BUT at the end of the day my bank account is higher here then it would be in Alberta due to cost of living.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

We have reduced staff in various departments where I work, more to come. Alberta is definitely not seeking more nurses, aside from rural areas where few people want to live.

[StrawberryGarden]

my best friend and sister are RN in calgary alberta and they can't find a full time job. it's all casual positions, working over nights. my sister has to pick up shifts from 3 diff locations. although the tax is low, you're better off working in a different province where you can actually get a full time job and just pay the higher tax, you'll still take home more money at the end of the day. did i mention the horrible winter weather. while i'm preparing to go to sleep in my warm bed, my sister has to head to work, in the freezing middle of the night.

[vintage_RN, BSN, RN]

I'm in Ontario and did the new grad program, after which I got a temp PT position...got bumped out of that and now I'm casual PT. There are 3 people ahead of me who want reg part time so it's not happening anytime soon. But I'm thankful that I still have a job, and I do get called for shifts a lot. I'm also in school for BscN so I don't want to work too much....but it's really hard all around.