VICTORIA — A recruitment campaign in the United States has allowed British Columbia to hire more than 400 health-care professionals in less than a year.
Premier David Eby and Health Minister Josie Osborne made the announcement at a news conference at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, saying the province has received more than 2,700 applications as a result of its targeted efforts for more health workers.
The premier says 89 doctors, 260 nurses, 42 nurse practitioners and 23 allied health professionals have been hired between March 2025 and January 2026.
He says they are providing care across all regions, and the province is ready to welcome more, because its public health care systems respects science.
Osborne says B.C. is an attractive place for U.S. health workers because its system protects reproductive health care, and treats patients based on their needs, not on their ability to pay.
Ianto West, who works as a psychologist at BC Children’s Hospital after moving from Seattle, says he likes his new professional and personal environment.
“I don’t know if I can explain how much of a difference it is, to sit with a patient, create a treatment plan and not have to think about how insurance is going to impact their care,” West says.
West says he also loves his bike commute to work, and that he feels welcome in his diverse neighbourhood.
While B.C. has a long history of recruiting health-care professionals abroad, it launched an advertising blitz in Washington State, Oregon and California last summer that pointed to the “chaos and uncertainty” under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Eby says the figures announced Tuesday prove that government’s “hunch was right” when it came to reaching out to doctors, nurses and other professionals in the United States.
Figures from the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives say that the institution approved 1,028 credential applications from American nurses since April, when the province started to fast-track applications.
Anna Kindy, the B.C. Conservative Party’s health critic, says in a statement that recruiting from the United States “may make for a headline,” but won’t fix the structural failures in the system of training and retaining medical staff.
Kindy says one-third of doctors are already internationally trained, and relying on foreign recruits is not long-term planning.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2026.
Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
