Expanding Canada’s Health Workforce

The Government of Canada is providing more than $31 million in federal funding for six projects that will make it faster and easier for internationally educated health professionals to join Canada’s health workforce.

October 2026

The Government of Canada is providing more than $31 million in federal funding for six projects that will make it faster and easier for internationally educated health professionals to join Canada’s health workforce.

The following projects are receiving funding:

Government of Ontario – Expanding the Practice Ready Ontario (PRO) Program

$20 million over four years, beginning in 2025-26, to expand the 12-week Practice Ready Ontario (PRO) program. The PRO program assesses the skills of internationally educated family physicians to confirm readiness for independent practice in Ontario. The program will create 50 additional positions for internationally educated family physicians each year, resulting in up to 200 new family physicians ready to work in Ontario by 2028-29. A key focus of the program will be to improve access to primary care in underserved northern and rural regions as well as Francophone communities in Ontario, with a specific stream for French-speaking internationally educated family physicians. Upon successful completion of the program, family physicians will be required to complete a three-year return of service commitment within an underserved community in Ontario.

Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators – Enhancing Resources and Support for Internationally Educated Physiotherapists

$2,166,007 over two years, beginning in 2025-26, to develop learning modules, pre-arrival resources on licensing and credentials, assessment preparation materials, as well as resources on alternate career pathways, skills upgrading and bridging opportunities. The initiative will also build a centralized information hub to help internationally educated physiotherapists navigate their integration into the Canadian health care system.

Canadian Association of Occupational Therapy – Internationally Educated Occupational Therapists: Web-based Navigation Supports

$1,762,489 over two years, beginning in 2025-26, to develop a bilingual online portal to provide clear and consistent guidance on licensure and workforce integration in Canada for internationally educated occupational therapists.

College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) - Re-IMGine: Revising International Medical Graduate (IMG) Assessment and Certification in Family Medicine

$2,046,648 over two years, beginning in 2025-26, to improve the process to certify internationally trained physicians, making it faster and easier for internationally trained physicians to become family physicians in Canada. This will be achieved through:

• Expanding the list of countries from which internationally trained physicians are automatically eligible for certification in family medicine in Canada;
• Developing a secondary route that would expedite pathways to certification for physicians from qualifying countries;
• Creating resources to support certification; 
• Simplifying and updating the current CFPC certification process to improve efficiency. 

Medical Council of Canada (MCC) -- Building the capacity of Practice-ready Assessment (PRA) programs and the readiness of International Medical Graduates (IMGs)

$4,645,700 over two fiscal years, beginning in 2025-26, to address barriers faced by internationally trained physicians. The project will enhance bilingual navigation services, including launching an upgraded Physicians Apply platform, featuring personalized progress dashboards to guide applicants through the Foreign Credential Recognition process. With provincial and territorial partners, the MCC will also create a new National Assessment Framework to standardize the existing PRA process across jurisdictions, increasing the capacity of provincial regulators to assess skills and abilities.

National Nursing Assessment Service – Pan-Canadian Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) Navigation Services

$621,599 over two years, beginning in 2025-26, to develop online resources and support tools to help IENs more quickly and easily navigate the process of becoming licensed to practice in Canada. The initiative will also provide information on the different pathways to becoming licensed across provinces and connect them more efficiently to existing support services.