More doctors alone can't cure our medical system
We already have more physicians. Why are there so many patients?
Governments and media regularly report that we have a shortage of physicians, especially family doctors. They blame this doctor shortage for poor access, long wait times, and overuse of emergency services.
The truth may sound stranger than fiction: Canada actually has MORE doctors than ever — including more family physicians — even when we factor in population growth, according to a recent report from Get Well Canada.
Number of physicians per 100k Canadians (1976 – 2022)
|
Physicians |
Family Physicians |
|||||
| 1976 | 2015 | 2022 | 1976 | 2015 | 2022 | |
| Canada | 144 | 230 | 247 | 73 | 116 | 124 |
| BC | 162 | 229 | 270 | 88 | 123 | 141 |
| AB | 128 | 242 | 244 | 70 | 126 | 119 |
| SK | 122 | 200 | 218 | 76 | 111 | 118 |
| MB | 143 | 206 | 215 | 75 | 107 | 111 |
| ON | 152 | 222 | 234 | 80 | 110 | 115 |
| QC | 143 | 245 | 262 | 58 | 119 | 132 |
| NB | 103 | 221 | 266 | 57 | 120 | 132 |
| NS | 136 | 263 | 270 | 75 | 133 | 132 |
| PEI | 115 | 184 | 209 | 73 | 102 | 114 |
| NFLD | 113 | 243 | 269 | 77 | 126 | 133 |
| YK | 98 | 210 | 203 | 85 | 180 | 169 |
| NWT | 74 | 84 | 125 | 59 | 68 | 99 |
| NU | -- | 27 | 72 | -- | 25 | 62 |
DATA SOURCE: CIHI, Supply, Distribution and Migration of Physicians in Canada, 2022 — Historical Data
We’ve found that many people — elected reps included — are surprised to learn that the number of doctors per capita has been rising for decades. Also rising is the share of public medical care funding going towards physician wages. Higher wages today than in decades past means billions more in taxpayer costs each year.
Since there are more doctors available to care for Canadians today, it’s clear that the supply of physicians isn’t the whole story behind our medical system woes.
It’s time to look at the other end of the equation. Let’s ask why the line of patients in need of physician care is so long — and what we can do to shorten it.
Get Well Canada has a roadmap to follow.
Evidence is clear that Canadians will ‘get well’ when we invest in safe and affordable homes, living wages, quality child care and schools, and a healthy environment — even more urgently than we invest in medical care. We used to follow this prescription decades ago. It’s time to return to this wisdom.
Dr. Paul Kershaw is Founder, Lead Researcher & Executive Chair of Generation Squeeze. He is a policy professor in the UBC School of Population and Public Health, and Director of the UBC Masters of Public Health program.
Andrea Long is Senior Director of Research and Knowledge Mobilization for Gen Squeeze. She has more than 20 years of experience in policy analysis, research and knowledge mobilization on health and social issues, including housing and homelessness, poverty, social determinants of health, and health in all policies.
