Do Canadian Nurses get paid more than in the US?

Ace587RN, RN · Apr 10, 2010

Hi everyone! I'm new to this site and haven't posted often (mainly because I'm not even a nursing student yet... I find out next Friday if I'm accepted... fingers crossed!). Anyway, I've read quite a few posts about nurses working in the States who get paid 15, 20, 25/ hour and one where someone made 93K/year and that was unbelievable to a lot of people. But I recently was looking at some listings for nurses here in Canada and the salary is more often than not, starting at 40/hour and some jobs are around 120K/year, and that's with little to no experience (the highest I've seen is asking for 2 years experience). This also confuses me because I hear about so many canadian nurses going down to the States because it pays more. In any case, this is more curiosity than anything. I would go into Nursing even if it paid next to nothing. I'm just interested to see if this is the case or not.
Have a good day everyone!

Do remember that the United States and Canada are two different countries. Canadian nurses do get paid more, but keep in mind that they do have higher costs of living and more taxes than American counterparts. Canada runs a socialist system, while the US runs a capitalist system. Canada provides more social services to its citizens but at a higher cost. No country is better than the other one.

Fiona59 · Apr 10, 2010

We do not run a socialist system. It's a universal system.

Having said that the $40/hr jobs aren't usually for new grads. My charge tops out at $42 and change.

allnurses Guide · Apr 10, 2010

Don't forget USD does not = CAD.

Fiona59 · Apr 10, 2010

Par baby, par.

I know nurses who are buying houses in Arizona because the $Cdn is strong.

gpatry · Apr 11, 2010

Do remember that the United States and Canada are two different countries. Canadian nurses do get paid more, but keep in mind that they do have higher costs of living and more taxes than American counterparts. Canada runs a socialist system, while the US runs a capitalist system. Canada provides more social services to its citizens but at a higher cost. No country is better than the other one.

Yes, as Fiona59 mentioned, it's not socialist. In any case, I wasn't trying to imply any country was better than the other and I apologize if it came off that way. I was just curious because you hear so much about nurses here heading down south to work and I always assumed it was because the pay was way better (which would make sense, given the different healthcare systems). But that's true, I never considered costs of living. Though, I don't know if there is such a difference in the cost of living that it makes some of the differences in pay equate, especially with the canadian dollar doing so well right now. But I guess it also depends on which province or state one is living in. Because I know that there is a huge difference in the cost of living between Alberta and Quebec for example. But anyway, I appreciate the insight, it does help clear things up :)

yxj124 · May 2, 2010

I worked in both countries for a while. When I worked in the States, the currency exchange rate was USD:CND = 0.6:1. Although I made $25/hr in the States, it's actually $42/hr back to Canada. Meanwhile, US employers pay differently based on care setting. In Canada, working in ICU gets the same paid as working in LTC due to Union pay grid.

RGN1 · May 2, 2010

I take exception to the last comment. ICU might be "high tech" nursing but LTC is darn hard work (I wouldn't do it), that requires a different set of skills. IMO no one area of nursing deserves to be higher paid than another. We all work hard wherever we are & deserve our parity.

Higher pay in Canada relates to experience & further education, as it should.

yxj124 · May 3, 2010

My roommate works in a government funded LTC facility, and the ratio of RN and resident is 1:12 with the support of RCAs and volunteers. She is at the top of level 1 with more than 300 hrs vos and 1000 hrs of sick time.

I work at level 3 trauma centre dealing with CRRT, organ transplant and ANGERY family. I am at step 8 of level 1 with MSN. I agree working in LTC requires special skills. However, I haven't heard ppl jump from LTC to critical care. My roommate worked in my unit several years ago. When she transferred to LTC, she didn't even need to get any certificate.

allnurses Guide · May 3, 2010

I take exception to the last comment. ICU might be "high tech" nursing but LTC is darn hard work (I wouldn't do it), that requires a different set of skills. IMO no one area of nursing deserves to be higher paid than another. We all work hard wherever we are & deserve our parity.
Higher pay in Canada relates to experience & further education, as it should.

What do you take exception to? The previous poster said:

"US employers pay differently based on care setting. In Canada, working in ICU gets the same paid as working in LTC due to Union pay grid."

I don't see anywhere that he/she suggested that anyone deserves more money than another, they just stated the facts about wage differences.

I agree pay shouldn't be about the setting but rather about the education and experience of the nurse - obviously being proficient in intensive care generally takes more education and training than being proficient in long term care, if only because more equipment and procedures are involved.

Fiona59 · May 3, 2010

My roommate works in a government funded LTC facility, and the ratio of RN and resident is 1:12 with the support of RCAs and volunteers. She is at the top of level 1 with more than 300 hrs vos and 1000 hrs of sick time.
I work at level 3 trauma centre dealing with CRRT, organ transplant and ANGERY family. I am at step 8 of level 1 with MSN. I agree working in LTC requires special skills. However, I haven't heard ppl jump from LTC to critical care. My roommate worked in my unit several years ago. When she transferred to LTC, she didn't even need to get any certificate.

People do move between LTC and Acute care. There are certifications available to nurses working in LTC (geri-psych, care of the aged, palliative, etc.). Trust me the families in LTC can be just as angry as the ones one any surgical unit. More so, because of the length of time the family member is in care. I've seen families develop, what can only be described as a "full on hate" for staff members.

Every specialty requires a certain personality, some more than others. If you enjoy your specialty, you will find education to advance your knowledge in the area.

yxj124 · May 3, 2010

I am leading a project of palliative care in ICU now, and early implementation of palliative care for ICU patients are strongly encouraged due to uncertain outcome of recovery. After the pilot project, we found early implementation of palliative care in critical setting actually decreased utilization, length of ICU stay, and cost, however, mortality rate didn't change, but DNR was signed early and family satisfaction was increased (unable to assess patient's satisfaction). When we talk about the angery family in ICU, we talk about a 20-yo who left home this morning and end up in hospital with half of head left due to a car accident. We understand the sorrows from parents, but we also know there are tons of ppl waiting for organ transplants. How often does this happen in my career? At least once a week.

Meanwhile, geri-psych and gerontology have been introduced to ICU nursing care many years ago due to aging population. The vent weaning, sedation, disease process are all different for this population. I had a 104-yo peritonitis with open bowel surgery combining VAC for 3 days, who was hemodynamic stable after closure then sent to surgical fl.

After I experience all the excitment, I'd follow my roommate's pathway, working in a government funded LTC facility. Caude I want to save some energy for my family instead of getting exhausted after work, and the paid is the same.