John Philpott has helped physicians move between the United States and Canada for nearly three decades, mostly arranging for Canadian doctors to emigrate to the US for training or jobs.
Now, his phone is ringing off the hook from US physicians looking to move north, said the CEO of CanAM Physician Recruiting.
Philpott said he’s seen a 65% jump in inquiries from US doctors alarmed by some Trump administration actions, including steep cuts in federal spending on medical research. Since January, Philpott has fielded around 10 inquiries each day, though some days have seen as many as 20.
Facing a dire physician shortage, Canada is capitalizing on US political turmoil to lure US physicians northward. The province of British Columbia has fast-tracked credentialing procedures and launched a recruitment campaign. Manitoba placed ads in US physician trade publications, exhorting them to “practice where you are valued and … government stays out of the exam room.”
The Medical Council of Canada, which validates credentials from foreign physicians, has seen a near six-fold increase in US-educated doctors signing up for its physician application portal, a spokesperson told Medscape. Over the past 2 months, MCC has also seen over 100 calls from American medical students looking for information on practicing in Canada.
“Breaking Point”
The physicians calling CanAm voice concerns about safety of LGBTQ people in the US, the erosion of reproductive rights, and coping with insurers’ bureaucracy, among other factors, according to Philpott.
“We also saw an uptick last summer from family practitioners and obstetricians and pediatricians who wanted to leave because of (state-level) changes in reproductive health laws,” Philpott said.
“This is one of the great tragedies for the United States,” said Stephen Archer MD, director of the Translational Institute of Medicine at Queen’s University in Ontario.
New rules in six of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories have established some form of reciprocity, which means most board-certified US physicians can practice in Canada without needing to retake onerous exams. The provinces hope easing regulations will attract foreign talent.
A spokesperson from the Medical Council of Canada, which validates credentials from foreign physicians who want to practice in Canada, said the number of US physicians registering for an account at physiciansapply.ca, the first step in pursuing Canadian medical licensure, has shot up nearly six-fold since January.
In addition, the council’s agents received about 100 calls per month from US-based locations, up one-third since last fall, the spokesperson said.
Provincial medical groups, such as Doctors Manitoba and Nova Scotia Health, have also seen upticks in inquiries from US physicians.
“We launched a digital marketing campaign in the end of November, and we've had something like over 150 leads from that,” said Katrina Philopoulos, recruitment director for Nova Scotia Health. That campaign led to hiring two US physicians, Philopoulos said, with more in the pipeline.
“There’s a desire for more economic and political stability,” said Keir Johnson, Director of Strategy, Advocacy & Communications at Doctors Manitoba. “There's an emotional pull to all of this. Physicians already have a very stressful job. They may be naturally resilient people, but everybody has a breaking point.”
Uprooting the Family
That’s why pediatrician Joy Eberhardt DeMaster, MD, hitched up a trailer to her electric car and began the 3700-mile journey east from Portland, Oregon, to Nova Scotia.
Concerned about rising gun violence and other threats to her young children’s well-being, as well as challenges in providing the holistic pediatric care she envisioned, Eberhardt DeMaster and her partner emigrated in spring 2023.
Nova Scotia had the pace of life and qualities that her family was looking for, Eberhardt DeMaster said.
“I think there is an inherent fear that is motivating some people, and then other people are concerned for their own identity, not being supported and feeling safe,” she said. “There is really a gentleness about life and lifestyle here.”
At the time, Nova Scotia didn’t have the same reciprocity rules it does today. Eberhardt DeMaster had to provide week-by-week documentation of what she did during her residency and internship to obtain full licensure. While she didn’t have to re-take any exams, the procedure was time-consuming.
As she began working, first in a provincial hospital and then in private practice, Eberhardt DeMaster had to learn how to navigate Canada’s government-funded healthcare system.
Some changes, such as not having to juggle complex billing systems from multiple payors, were a welcome relief. Others, including a continued reliance on paper charts and documentation, were more frustrating.
“I'm very much an immigrant here, and the systems are different. I look like I should fit in. I look like I should know, and I don't,” Eberhardt DeMaster said.
Having to scribble answers in ballpoint pen instead of clicking a mouse is a small price to pay for the freedom to practice medicine without interference from rules against gender-affirming care and the frustrations of prior authorizations, she added.
Family medicine physician Alison Carleton echoes this assessment. In late 2017, she moved with her wife from Iowa to Winnipegosis in Manitoba and hasn’t looked back.
“In my Iowa practice, I wasn't able to see enough patients per day to pay the bills. I had a practice with one staff member. I was trying to be as slim as possible, and we still weren't making ends meet,” Carleton said in an email. “In Manitoba, I don't have that problem. My bills are paid.”
Carleton also can provide gender-affirming care, such as hormone therapy, at her current job, something she knows she could not do if she stayed in Iowa. The state has banned such care for transgender youth.
“The 2016 election was the tipping point for my wife Cyndie and me. Here, it's no big deal to take care of patients the way they need to be taken care of. You don’t need to be scared you're going to be put in jail for giving someone hormones,” Carleton said. “If I hadn't left by now, I would have had to leave, because that was very important to me to be able to take care of people in a way that met all their needs.”
Doctors Manitoba and Nova Scotia Health emphasize increased freedom in medical practice and in social factors in their materials.
“There's an opportunity here for doctors looking for a place to practice without political interference, and we're looking to increase that. These stars are aligning in a way that's hugely beneficial for all of us,” said Johnson.
“Smoother” Immigration
Both Eberhardt DeMaster and Carleton stress that the move isn’t seamless and can take time to arrange.
As someone who grew up in both the US and Mexico, Eberhardt DeMaster was familiar with the challenges of learning a new language and dealing with immigration bureaucracy. Canadian-born Archer has also spent time on both sides of the US-Canada border, first for advanced training in Minnesota in the 1980s and later at the University of Chicago. Though not necessarily simple, the immigration process for physicians has gotten smoother in recent years, he said.
“A family doctor can move to almost any province and be licensed by the College of Physicians or family medicine. That's easy. You just have to find a job, and there's tons of jobs available,” Archer said.
As a physician-scientist, Archer has historically helped his Canadian colleagues find leads on positions in the US. Since January 2025, however, cuts to the US scientific infrastructure have left many medical researchers scrambling to stay afloat. He has found himself suddenly fielding requests for the opposite move.
Joss Reimer, president of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), said that the CMA is working with the national government to assist US doctors who wish to emigrate, as well as bolster Canadian research funding to compete better globally.
“This is an opportunity for us to bring in outside talent to help fill the void and make Canada a science and medical powerhouse,” Reimer said.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/canada-aims-lure-us-doctors-north-amid-trump-turmoil-2025a1000aoh
