Liberals to open new fast track to permanent residency for 5,000 foreign doctors

The federal government is promising to open up permanent residency to foreign doctors who work as temporary foreign residents in Canada in a bid to tackle the doctor shortage across the country.

Immigration Minister Lena Diab announced the policy change in Toronto on Monday, saying 5,000 spots would be opened for international doctors in addition to existing immigration levels.

“Many of these doctors are already treating patients in our communities. We cannot afford to lose them,” Diab said.

The plan includes creating a new Express Entry category for foreign doctors starting in 2026, with job offers currently open to physicians with at least one year of Canadian work experience in the last three years.

A government statement said physicians eligible for the program include primary care doctors as well as specialists in surgery, clinical and laboratory medicine.

“We are giving these doctors a clear path to permanent residence in Canada to address the critical health workforce shortage, as well as help support reliable care and a stable health system for Canadians,” the federal government said in a statement.

Under the new measures, provinces and territories will be able to enroll licensed doctors with a job offer into the Express Entry immigration stream. These nominations will be in addition to the existing annual provincial nomination places, the government said.

The work permits of doctors enrolled in the stream will be processed in 14 days, allowing them to work while the permanent residence formalities are completed.

The government said the move aims to improve access for the 17 percent of adults and 11 percent of children and youth who reported not having access to a regular health care provider.