A surge in hiring within the health-care systems of Alberta and Ontario has been significantly bolstering Canada’s overall job market, although this growth may reflect a stagnant economy rather than enhancements in patient care.
A report by Desjardins Group examining jobs data from Statistics Canada reveals that these two provinces have collectively created over 100,000 health-care positions, predominantly in public institutions, since the onset of the U.S. trade war, a trend aligned with increased funding earmarked for health care in their budgets.
According to Desjardins’ review of provincial budget documents, both Alberta and Ontario are set to allocate more than $8 billion extra for health care in 2026 compared to 2025. Last year, Ontario allocated $91.5 billion for health services, whereas Alberta earmarked $24 billion.
Without the increase in hiring, the report’s author, Desjardins’ deputy chief economist Randall Bartlett, stated to CBC News that Canada’s employment landscape “would have remained largely flat,” suggesting that assertions about a vigorous Canadian economy are “somewhat misleading.”
Data from the Labour Force Survey indicates that since March 2025, almost 133,000 jobs were added across the health-care and social assistance sectors, with the majority of hiring concentrated in hospitals and elder care services, according to the report — surpassing the total of 118,000 jobs created in all other sectors combined.
This targeted hiring demonstrates that Alberta and Ontario are executing policies aimed at increasing funding “with the expectation of expanding and bolstering public health care,” Bartlett remarked, ideally leading to concrete advancements in the system.
However, whether these improvements will materialize remains uncertain, as economists and health policy experts caution that increased spending and job creation in health care do not necessarily guarantee enhanced services for patients.
“It’s crucial to understand that just because a position is within the health-care sector, it doesn’t imply that it involves direct patient contact,” emphasized Fiona Clement, director of the Centre for Health Policy at the University of Calgary’s Cummings School of Medicine.
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In Alberta, following the government’s reorganization of its health authority into four distinct agencies, “the full support structure of a ministry must be duplicated three additional times,” noted Clement.
“Considering this perspective, it makes sense that there has been a growth in that workforce.”
However, evidence suggests that the new positions are not necessarily focused on front-line patient care, with Clement highlighting that data from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta indicates “there has not been significant growth in the number of physicians in the province.”
Alberta’s new dual practice health-care model, which allows doctors to work in both the public and private systems, officially launched Tuesday. Premier Danielle Smith says it will relieve strain and reduce wait times, but critics say it will create unequal access to health care.
Some of the increased labor costs in Alberta and Ontario might simply compensate for previous slower hiring rates, Bartlett pointed out, and a portion of the funding will be allocated to wage increases for current employees.
The provinces could also be gearing up for upcoming demographic changes, according to Livio Di Matteo, an economics professor at Lakehead University with a focus on health economics and public policy.
“A significant number of physicians are anticipated to retire within the next five years, along with nurses and various health professionals,” he stated. “This trend is likely already underway, which accounts for the observed increase in hiring or the heightened pace of hiring.”
Spending ‘tends to go up’
Moreover, the growth in spending alone is not particularly noteworthy, experts say.
Government expenditure on health care generally rises as demand increases with population growth, indicated Sara Allin, an associate professor of health policy at the University of Toronto and director of the North American Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.
“We seldom observe a genuine decline in expenditure. It tends to rise, often at a pace that outstrips economic growth,” she noted.
“Given this, we can expect more hires to occur.”
The implications of this trend across provincial networks can be quite intricate, Allin observed, with regional populations changing, service availability differing between urban and rural areas, and some hospitals expanding while others face funding cuts.
“All these factors can coexist,” she explained. “It relies on where personnel are being recruited, which hospitals facing deficits might be laying off staff, while others that are growing are hiring. It is contingent on regional conditions and the hospital’s ability to manage these financial strains.”
The factor of population growth also implies that the health-care spending surge may not be as substantial as it appears, Di Matteo mentioned.
Data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information in 2025 indicates that when accounting for population growth and inflation, spending per capita in Alberta increased by about 0.3 percent. For Ontario, it remained nearly unchanged — “essentially flat,” he remarked.
Considering the latest population trends, as indicated by recent Statistics Canada data that shows Ontario’s population has declined for three consecutive quarters while Alberta’s has seen slight growth, Bartlett noted that Ontario’s spending growth on a real per capita basis “should be increasing,” while Alberta’s would likely be “tempered.”
Increased per capita spending growth is not necessarily a clear indicator of an improved system, Clement observed, and reductions in spending are not inherently negative.
“If you can lower expenditure per capita while achieving better outcomes, it signifies that you are crafting a system that provides greater value than before.”
According to Sara Allin, an associate professor of health policy at the University of Toronto, government expenditure on health care generally grows over time due to rising demand as populations expand. (Alessio Donnini/CBC)
‘No reason to think this will reverse’
Desjardins anticipates the hiring trend to remain robust “for the foreseeable future.”
Both Alberta and Ontario have projected further increases in health-care funding “over the next few years,” the Desjardins report states. With various factors likely driving up costs, particularly an aging population, “there is no indication that this trend will reverse.”
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The report indicates that Alberta anticipates an annual growth in health-care spending of about four to five percent, a range that “could be similarly realistic for other Canadian provinces given the ongoing pressures on provincial health care systems.”
A University of Calgary report suggests doctors’ availability remains a bottleneck in accessing virtual care and points to expanding team-based care as a possible solution. This Calgary doctor says that type of care isn’t always paid.
Ultimately, Bartlett asserts that taxpayers will not gauge the success of this hiring wave based on headline figures but rather on the outcomes when they require medical attention.
“In terms of any public policy, what truly matters to Canadians and taxpayers at large is witnessing tangible results from that public expenditure,” he stated.
“When examining the hiring in provinces that have escalated spending significantly, if that translates into improved health-care results, it should convey a more favorable message to Canadians that some of the funding is being allocated effectively.”