Number of Family Doctors in Canada on Decline Over Last 10 Years

An entrance sign to a hospital is shown in Toronto on Oct. 19, 2021. The Canadian Press/Evan Buhler

The number of new family doctors providing care in Canada has slowed over the past decade, according to a new report.

The annual report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), examines trends among health-care professionals offering primary care services.

The growth of doctors entering the field has slowed from 3 percent between 2015 and 2017 to one percent between 2021 and 2023, the report released Dec. 17 found. The drop in family doctors occurred at the same time as a rapid increase in Canada’s population, CIHI said.

CIHI also noted that physicians have been seeing fewer patients than they did 10 years ago. There could be multiple reasons for this, including an aging and complex patient population that requires more time per visit, the expansion of the role of nurse practitioners and pharmacists, and the need for work-life balance, the institute said.

“On average, there has been an 18 percent decline over the past 10 years—from 1,746 patients in 2013 to 1,430 patients in 2022,” CIHI said in a Dec. 17 press release.

An earlier report from CIHI noted that 5.4 million Canadians 18 and older say they didn’t have access to a regular health-care provider in 2023.

Additionally, Canada ranked last in a survey of 10 Commonwealth countries for the number of people who said they have a doctor or place to go for medical care.

“Of Canadians without a regular primary care provider, 39 percent reported having at least one chronic condition, and 29 percent took one or more prescription medications,” CIHI said in a March press release.

“Better access to primary health care can lead to better health outcomes, and to fewer emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations.”

More Health Care Professionals

While the number of doctors is declining, there has been growth in the number of other health-care professionals, according to CIHI.

“Overall health workforce delivering care in Canada’s communities—that is, outside of hospitals and long-term care homes, for example—is, in fact, growing,” the organization said.

The report notes there was a growth in the number of pharmacists, nurses, and physiotherapists working in community settings in 2023.

The past decade has seen a 15 percentage point increase in the proportion of physiotherapists working in community settings, according to the press release. That is the largest growth of all professionals.

Approximately three-quarters of pharmacists are working in community settings, CIHI said.

The organization also found a 3 percent increase in the number of nurse practitioners over the past 10 years. It said nearly 37,000 registered nurses and just shy of 19,000 licensed practical nurses worked in community care settings.