Quebec: 43 out of every 100 new nurses are leaving the profession before turning 35, finds new MEI report

• Across Canada, 40 young nurses left the profession for every 100 who entered it in 2022.

Montreal, September 24, 2024 – Canadian health care systems struggle to hold on to their young nurses, reveals a publication released this morning by the Montreal Economic Institute.

“For every 100 nurses we train in the country, 40 are leaving the profession before their 35^th birthday,” states Emmanuelle B. Faubert, economist at the MEI and co-author of the publication. “This exodus of young nurses has been worsening for the past decade, contributing to our health care woes.”

By 2030, Canada is expected to suffer a shortage of 117,600 nurses.

The MEI’s study shows that for every 100 Canadian nurses who started working in the field in 2022, 40 nurses below the age of 35 quit. This figure is up 25 per cent from 2013.

Quebec ranked fifth, with 43.1 young nurses leaving for every 100 entering in 2022. This is 29 per cent higher than in 2013.

The province of British Columbia saw the biggest drop in the number of young nurses seeking greener pastures, going from 46.3 for every 100 new entrants, down to 31.5 over the course of the last decade.

“Quebec nurses are leaving the government-run system in droves, with nearly half of young nurses leaving the profession before they turn 35,” added Ms. Faubert. “By forcing nurses back into the government-run system and away from nursing agencies, we risk seeing a lot more of them contemplate a career change.”

In April 2023, the Government of Quebec adopted Bill 10, which hoped first to limit, and then to eliminate, independent nurse staffing agencies in the province.

Since the Bill came into effect, healthcare regions throughout the province have been warning of service reductions due to staff shortages brought on by the progressive ban on independent nurses. Montérégie-Ouest, Côte-Nord and Abitibi-Témiscamingue are some examples.

In May, Health Minister Christian Dubé promised a “flying-squad” of health care workers to address the shortages, but has yet to deliver sufficient staff.

Throughout Canada, nurses below the age of 35 are more likely to leave their current job (or leave the profession altogether) than remain where they are, according to a recent survey from the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.

Some of the most commonly cited concerns were a lack of control over their work schedules, including mandatory overtime and a lack of shift flexibility as principal sources of workplace stress.

Nurses who expressed a desire to quit their current position were also more likely to express interest in working for an independent nursing agency.

For those desiring better working conditions with more flexibility and better pay, independent agencies are considered a preferable alternative and often a final step before leaving nursing altogether.

“It’s understandable why governments would want to reduce their reliance on nursing agencies, given their costs, but that shouldn’t be done at the expense of patient treatment,” notes Ms. Faubert. “If governments want to reduce their reliance on independent staff, they need to work on giving young nurses more flexibility to make working for the healthcare system attractive to them once more.”

You can read the MEI’s publication here.

You can find provincial-level data showing changes in the rate at which young nurses are leaving here.

Tailored provincial media releases can be found here: Alberta / British Columbia / Manitoba / New Brunswick / Newfoundland and Labrador / Nova Scotia / Ontario / Prince Edward Island / Saskatchewan.

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The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.

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