Silas: We must address the barriers keeping thousands of IENs living in Canada out of the profession
February 19, 2025 (Ottawa, ON) – As governments look to internationally educated nurses to address Canada’s nursing shortage, a new report is calling for policy changes to better support IENs joining the profession once they’re in the country. Despite the sacrifices IENs make to relocate their lives and families to Canada, only 42% of those who are employed are working as nurses.
“Internationally educated nurses are a key component of our governments’ plans to address the nursing crisis in Canada. Yet tens of thousands of IENs currently living in Canada are not working in the profession,” said Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU). “We have a responsibility, to IENs and to all of Canada, to understand and address the barriers holding back this untapped potential of nurses who are waiting to provide care.”
Released today, Bolstering Pathways to Practice: Empowering Internationally Educated Nurses in Canadaincludes detailed recommendations for a standardised route to licensure for IENs across Canada, wrap-around supports for IENs and effective workplace integration for IENs. The report was authored by Dr. Makini McGuire-Brown in partnership with the CFNU and World Education Services (WES).
As Canada’s working nurses, the CFNU worked with WES to understand what the key barriers have been for IENs living in Canada, who have been unable to become registered in a timely fashion. Workshops and feedback sessions with IENs across the country were key to forming the basis of the nuanced recommendations in this report.
“Timely and concrete action is required by all levels of government and nursing regulators across the country to enable internationally educated nurses to contribute their deep experience and expertise to our health care system, which is being impacted by health care workforce shortages and a rapidly aging population,” said Shamira Madhany, Managing Director Canada and Deputy Executive Director of WES.
Silas emphasized the urgent need to dismantle the barriers to practice that IENs currently living in Canada are facing.
“All workers, be they domestically trained or internationally trained, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect in their workplace,” said Silas. “Support for successful integration is the respect nurses need and deserve when they’ve uprooted their lives and moved countries to practice. Together, we need to clear pathways for IENs to practice and, in turn, ease the pressure in nursing across the country.”
The full report and recommendations can be found here.
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The CFNU is Canada’s largest nurses’ organization, representing 250,000 frontline unionized nurses and nursing students in every sector of health care – from home care and LTC to community and acute care – and advocating on key priorities to strengthen public health care across the country.
About World Education Services
Founded in 1974, WES is a non-profit social enterprise that supports the educational, economic, and social inclusion of international students, immigrants, and refugees. From evaluating academic credentials to shaping policy, designing programs, and providing philanthropic funding, we partner with a diverse set of organizations, leaders, and networks to uplift individuals and drive systems change.
For more information, please contact Adella Khan, media@nursesunions.ca, 613‑807‑2942.