40% of nurses leaving profession before age 35

MONTREAL – A new study found that for 40 percent of nurses in Canada quit before reaching age 35. This figure is up 25 percent from 2013. By 2030, Canada is expected to suffer a shortage of 117,600 nurses.

“For every 100 nurses we train in the country, 40 are leaving the profession before their 35th birthday,” said Emmanuelle B. Faubert (pictured), economist at the Montreal Economic Institute and co-author of the publication. “This exodus of young nurses has been worsening for the past decade, contributing to our healthcare woes.”

Ontario ranked third, with 35.1 young nurses leaving for every 100 entering in 2022. This is 83 percent 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.

“Ontario used to be able to retain its nurses better than most provinces, with less than one in five young nurses leaving the profession only a decade ago,” added Ms. Faubert. “Much like in the rest of the country, Ontario needs to find ways to bring back more flexibility in healthcare workplaces to help with retention.”

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: https://www.iedm.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/note102024_en.pdf

You can find provincial-level data showing changes in the rate at which young nurses are leaving here: https://www.iedm.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/appendix_note102024_en.pdf

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.