A new report from the Montreal Economic Institute (or MEI) finds that 61 nurses under the age of 35 left the workforce in Newfoundland and Labrador for every 100 nurses who entered the health care system in 2024.
The thinktank studied the supply of nurses since 2023, by examining the most recent data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and review trends in recruitment and retention of young nurses.
Senior policy analyst with the Montreal institute, Gabriel Giguere, says while the latest data is an improvement over the previous year, the ratio remains high and puts undue pressure on an already strained health care system.
The report says there were more than 27,000 nursing vacancies across Canada last year – a drop from 2023 but roughly three times higher than in 2016.
This province saw the highest ratio of young nurses heading for greener pastures. That’s troubling according to Giguere who says long-term solutions to stressful working conditions must be found “quickly.”
The best performer in the country according to MEI is British Columbia which has cut the turnover of young nurses by 53 per cent since 2014.
RNU President Yvette Coffey (VOCM News)
Registered Nurses Union says numbers don’t mean 61 per cent of newly recruited nurses left
The Registered Nurses Union admits that the report raises serious concerns in Newfoundland and Labrador, but there are nuances in the report that are worth noting.
The RNU says the ratio of 61 nurses leaving for every 100 nurses coming in does not mean that 61 per cent of newly recruited nurses left. It says outflows can include nurses moving to another province, leaving the profession, or not renewing their licences for other reasons.
The union says the institute’s analysis of CIHI data reflects its preference for a market-based approach – including private clinics and staffing agencies. The RNU says its focus is on improving retention and working conditions in the publicly funded, publicly delivered health care system.
RNU President Yvette Coffey says nursing recruitment and retention are challenges across the country and the province must create conditions that make nurses want to stay. That includes safe staffing levels, better compensation, protection from workplace violence and an end to mandatory overtime to allow nurses time to rest and recover.
She says the province must implement the recommendations of the now complete Core Staffing Review, and introduce safe hours legislation.
The union is in the process of discussing the report with government.
