General Practitioners and Family Physicians

If you are interested in working as a General practitioner or family physician in Canada, you will be pleased to know that the job outlook for your occupation in Canada is extremely positive. You can use this overview of the Canadian employment prospects in your field to start planning your immigration and settlement in Canada.

General practitioners and family physicians are on the list of 29 eligible occupations under the Federal Skilled Worker program. A maximum of 500 applications will be accepted for processing in each of the 29 occupations, with an overall cap of 10,000 applications.

To view current number of applications received toward the cap, click here.

To find out if you qualify for a Canadian immigration (permanent resident) visa please fill out our free eligibility assessment.

3142 - Click here for a description of the occupation and job duties of General practitioners and family physicians:

General practitioners and family physicians diagnose and treat the diseases, physiological disorders and injuries of patients. They provide primary contact and continuous care toward the management of patients' health. They usually work in private practice, including group or team practices, hospitals and clinics. Residents in training to be general practitioners and family physicians are included in this unit group.

(Description from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada's National Occupation Classification, used by Canadian immigration officers, to assess an applicant's work experience.)

Examine patients and take their histories, order laboratory tests, X-rays and other diagnostic procedures and consult with other medical practitioners to evaluate patients' physical and mental health
Prescribe and administer medications and treatments
Perform and assist in routine surgery
Provide emergency care
Provide acute care management
Inoculate and vaccinate patients
Deliver babies and provide pre-natal and post-natal care
Advise patients and their families on health care including health promotion, disease, illness and accident prevention
Provide counselling and support to patients and their families on a wide range of health and lifestyle issues
Perform patient advocacy role
Co-ordinate or manage primary patient care
Provide continuous care to patients
Supervise home care services
Report births, deaths, and contagious and other diseases to governmental authorities.

3142 - Click here for some example titles of General Practitioners and Family Physicians:

civil aviation medical officer
community preventive medicine physician
company physician
doctor of medicine (MD)
doctor, family
doctor, medical
family doctor
family physician
family practitioner
general practice intern
general practice physician
general practice resident
general practitioner (GP)
GP (general practitioner)
industrial medical officer
industrial medicine physician
industrial physician
intern
intern, general practice
MD (doctor of medicine)
medical doctor
medical missionary

medical officer (general practitioner) – military
medical officer of health (MOH)
medical officer, civil aviation
military medical officer (general practitioner)
missionary doctor
MO (medical officer) general practitioner – military
MOH (medical officer of health)
physician resident
physician, community preventive medicine
physician, company
physician, family
physician, general practice
physician, industrial
physician, primary care
physician, public health
practitioner, general
primary care physician
public health physician
resident
resident physician
resident, general practice

Why your employment prospects in Canada are excellent:

The demand for family physicians and general practitioners in Canada will continue to increase because our aging population requires more health care.

Find out about the salary ranges for family physicians and general practitionersin different Canadian cities with our Canada Salary Calculator

Some areas of Canada where your occupation is in demand:

While there is a critical national shortage of general practitioners and family physicians in Canada, the following cities and provinces listed below have a particularly high demand for this occupation.

British Columbia

Employment prospects for practitioners and family physicians are considered to be good throughout this province, but most physicians work in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland as this region has more hospitals and higher demands for health-care services.
There will be many opportunities throughout the province for physicians who wish to operate a family practice, as a growing and aging population will require more health services.
There are comparatively more under-served rural communities than urban, in terms of available physicians. As a result, there is likely a higher demand in rural areas.
Physicians who move to rural communities to practice may receive incentives such as signing bonuses, student loan reductions, fee-for-service and flat sum premiums or travel subsidies.
British Columbia remains an attractive place for practicing physicians from within and outside Canada to relocate.
The province has been a consistent net importer of physicians, and approximately a quarter of all practicing physicians in B.C. are international medical graduates.

Alberta
Athabasca/Grande Prairie/Peace River, Lethbridge/Medicine Hat and Red Deer, Alberta:

Employment prospects for this occupation are considered to be good in these regions.

Manitoba

Employment prospects for general practitioners and family physicians are expected to be good in the period 2009-2013. Employment in Manitoba for 2009 was estimated at 1,385.
There are shortages of general practitioners and family physicians throughout the province, especially in Winnipeg and rural areas.
All general practitioners and family physicians work in the Health Care and Social Assistance sector, with the majority working in community based doctor’s offices/health centres (63%), followed by hospitals (35%) and residential care homes (2%).

Saskatchewan

Employment prospects are considered to be very good throughout the province.
General practitioners and family physicians are among the highest paid professionals in Saskatchewan (and on average, incomes in this field are higher in Regina and Saskatoon).
An aging population with growing health concerns in addition many physicians nearing retirement age themselves (in 2006, nearly 65% of all Saskatchewan general practitioners and family physicians were 45 years of age or older) will increase demand.
Like other provinces, Saskatchewan faces recruitment and retention challenges, particularly in rural areas.

Ontario

There is currently a shortage of general practitioners and family physicians in Ontario, and this high demand is only expected to grow due to the growing and ageing population.
In addition a substantial number of jobs will become available each year from the need to replace family physicians who retire.
The Government of Ontario is committed to making Ontario a practice area of choice for both Canadian and internationally trained physicians. It created various recruitment and retention programs for both primary care and specialist physicians.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has made it easier for foreign-trained doctors to practise medicine in Ontario. In 2004, the ministry more than doubled the number of assessment and training positions available to international medical graduates annually from 90 to 200.
More than 5,000 internationally trained doctors were practicing in Ontario in 2009, representing almost a quarter of the physician workforce.
Ontario passed a new act in 2008 allowing doctors practicing in other provinces and the U.S. to be fast-tracked to begin working in Ontario through a new College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) registration process. Ontario and the CPSO will continue to work on other changes recommended by Etobicoke-Lakeshore MPP Laurel Broten in her Report on Removing Barriers for International Medical Doctors.
The new legislation is part of a larger plan to remove barriers for internationally trained doctors.

Kingston, Ontario:

It is estimated that about 20,000 people in Kingston do not have a family doctor.
Adding to this problem is the number of family physicians reaching retirement age. According to the 2001 Census, 28% of the family physicians in the Kingston area are over 50 years of age.
To help deal with the shortage, the City of Kingston started a Family Physician Recruitment program in 2008 that is coordinated by the Kingston Economic Development Corporation providing financial incentives to interested medical students and doctors.

Waterloo Region, Ontario:

Employment is expected to be very good, especially for physicians in family practice, or in rural communities.

Thunder Bay, Ontario:

There is a significant shortage of family physicians in Northwestern Ontario.
In Thunder Bay, thousands of people have no family doctor. Many communities have no doctors at all.
Most communities have some form of recruitment program in place, all with limited success.

Niagara Area, Ontario:

The Ministry of Health has designated it as an ‘underserviced’ area for general practitioners and family physicians. Demand for general practitioners and family physicians continue to exced supply.
An increasing number of jobs will be created over the next 5 to 10 years by the need to replace physicians who retire.
Rural areas and small towns are particularly in desperate need.

Sudbury, Ontario:

Currently, there exists an acute shortage of family practitioners in the City of Greater Sudbury.
It has been estimated that one in five families in the area are without a family physician.
In an effort to retain and recruit doctors to the area, several different strategies have been implemented. The local chamber of commerce has been putting together a "gift basket" that includes memberships to local clubs, portraits, etc. to recruit physicians.

Hamilton, Ontario:

Employment prospects are considered to be very good as there continues to be an abundance of practice opportunities for general practitioners and family physicians in the area.
Hamilton's Physician Recruiter reports that many of Hamilton's family physicians are 60 years of age and older and are likely to retire over the next five years without anyone to take over their practices. This is likely to cause a serious shortage.

London-Woodstock Area, Ontario:

There is a shortage of family doctors in the London-Woodstock area. It is estimated that 20,000 to 30,000 Londoners do not have a family doctor.

Nova Scotia
South Shore (Lunenburg & Queens Counties), Nova Scotia:

There continues to be a significant number of opportunities for both general practitioners and family physicians in the South Shore.
Currently, the six communities in Lunenburg County are all actively recruiting physicians.

Southwest Nova Scotia (Yarmouth, Shelburne & Digby Counties), Nova Scotia:

Almost every community in South West Nova Scotia is actively recruiting physicians.
The emergency rooms in Digby and Shelburne were routinely shut down during 2008 due to doctor shortages.

Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia:

Employment prospects in this area are very good.
It is estimated that there are over 5,000 people without a family doctor in the area.

New Brunswick

According to provincial government reports, there is still a shortage of medical doctors, particularly in the rural area of the province.

Prince Edward Island

The employment prospects for general practitioners and family physicians are good throughout the province.
Securing enough physicians to meet demand continues to be a significant challenge in P.E.I.
Retirements will create an additional need for physicians.
Various incentive programs are available to medical students and physicians considering a move to P.E.I.

Newfoundland and Labrador

The employment outlook for this occupation is considered to be good over the next five years.
Jobs are expected to be created both through new growth as well as replacement of current physicians due to turnover or retirement.
General Practitioners and Family Physicians are employed in all regions of the province; however, a larger portion is employed in the Eastern region.

Yukon