Job Market in Canada

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Specializes in EKG interpretation, LTC, oncology.

Hello to my northern friends...

I'm a new nurse in the US (9 months of experience) and I was just wondering how the job market for nurses was in Canada. I'm not planning on relocating there, but I am just interested to hear what people say.

Thanks for your replies!

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

A lot will depend on the province although West seems to be more affected with nurses struggling to find work to the East I have seen less jobs advertised here in the East and even if you apply the response is low to non existent

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Specializes in acute care med/surg, LTC, orthopedics.

Some areas of Central Canada are experiencing nursing shortages, including Eastern Ontario. In my area, you can pretty much walk into a full-time job.

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Specializes in EKG interpretation, LTC, oncology.

Thanks for the replies... that's interesting that you can get work so easily, Ottawa. Maybe I will move up there.

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Specializes in acute care med/surg, LTC, orthopedics.

Hey, make no mistake, I wasn't eluding that getting a job was easy, just that there are plenty available postings especially in the LTC, retirement and home care sector. I'm assuming they're very competitive and those nurses who are bilingual will have preferential treatment but it's still going to require legwork and determination from any and all applicants as there are many employed nurses looking for new jobs. The Ontario government also has a program in place guaranteeing new Ontario nursing grads a full-time job for 1 year, but this may not necessarily be in a sector the new grads wants to work.

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Specializes in EKG interpretation, LTC, oncology.

No, I understand that getting a job would still be a challenge. However, the fact that the government works to get new grads jobs is pretty amazing. The U.S. government does nothing like that.

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This is coming from a LPN from the US. I have gone through it all so it's just my take on it. If you are looking to work in Canada sponsorship is not an option at least from what I see. You have to have a years worth of experience to apply for the skilled worker category. That would give you permanent residency and the right to work in Canada. If your flexible in what area you want to work in it helps. It took several months for CLPNA to assess my documents. You need to be registered in Canada with whatever province you choose to live before looking for a job. Trust me if your not registered your not going to find a job. You will also need to take the Canadian exam. I applied to CLPNA while my immigration application was being processed. Once I was registered with CLPNA I got responses from the applications that I submitted. It took a year and 1 month for me to get my PR and I am a US citizen. The whole process is time consuming and very involved but if it's something you want it's doable! Just wanted to let you know that in my opinion finding a job is the last step in the process. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

I was wondering when US nurse graduates would start looking to Canada for work. What is the pay for a new graduate in Canada?

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
I was wondering when US nurse graduates would start looking to Canada for work. What is the pay for a new graduate in Canada?

Varies from province to province but the link in this thread should give you an idea Cross Country Comparison of Wages and Benefits - Nursing for Nurses

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