Where are Nova Scotia's new doctors coming from? A look into recruitment of family physicians to the province

Nova Scotia saw its best year in terms of doctor recruitment this year, with 278 new doctors beginning to practice in the province. It’s an increase of 10 per cent from last year.

Out of that total, 111 are new family physicians while the 167 remaining are specialist physicians, which includes a range of specific positions such as surgeons.

Factoring the number of doctors that left the province or retired, Nova Scotia Health is reporting a net gain of 199 doctors.

Katrina Philopoulos, senior director of physician recruitment for Nova Scotia Health, said the department aims to recruit from the local medical schools. Cape Breton Medical Campus opened its doors to 30 new medical students, who have entered return-of-service agreements to practice family medicine in rural areas of Nova Scotia after graduation.

“We have the Dalhousie Medical School and now Cape Breton Medical Campus,” said Philopoulos. “So, we have our own Nova Scotians that are training in the majority of the seats, and so we try to recruit the majority from there and from our Dalhousie residents, of course.”

This year, 41 of Dalhousie’s 79 family medicine graduated residents were retained in Nova Scotia, either starting in family practice positions or progressing towards it.

The department also has a significant focus on international recruitment. Philopoulos said 40 per cent of new doctors were recruited internationally this year. Thirty-three doctors came from the United States, a significant increase from last year’s 12.

The United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa are some of the other countries where new doctors have been recruited from.

Philopoulos said it is all about if physicians have the proper licenses to practice medicine in the province.

“We focus on those jurisdictions, but there’s always an opportunity to look for more,” said Philopoulos.

But, there is a pathway, through the Physician Assessment Centre of Excellence which was launched in February 2025 to support internationally trained doctors to gaining licenses in the province. Eight doctors were recruited through that process.

The new family doctors are primarily employed in central Nova Scotia, with 70 in the Halifax Regional Municipality. As of October, it has the lowest number of active people on the Need a Family Practice Registry with 5,401, decreasing from 6,751 in September.

The Eastern zone, including Cape Breton, only saw an increase of five family doctors, but had the second highest increase in specialists at 35. It currently has the second highest number of people on the registry with 14,455.

The Western zone saw 17 doctors added with 16,465 people on the registry. The Northern zone had 19 family physicians added and currently has 13,017 on the registry.

Philopoulos said recruitment is done based on the need.

“It really depends on the mix of individuals that we have, the community needs at that moment in time, and so it’s constantly flexing and changing. It’s a dynamic piece.”

For rural zones, Nova Scotia Health also depends on the surrounding communities to help welcome new doctors.

“Our communities do are critical to the success of this work, and so we have a lot of community groups in most areas of Nova Scotia and community navigators,” said Philopoulos. “Our communities are really resource rich for small communities, and it’s really the people in those communities that welcome them that retain them.”

As of the end of 2025, there were 1,702 family physicians working in Nova Scotia, according to Nova Scotia Health representatives in a health committee meeting in October. Currently, there are 65 family medicine vacancies open.

“We’re looking to recruit based on the needs that we have, and so right now, as an example, we’ve already recruited 166 physicians this fiscal year, and I think we have another 71 that are expected to start. So, we expect to be right on par as last year.”

Despite the positive increase in physicians, Rod Wilson, the NDP’s health critic, said there should be more transparency about the province’s goals and needs.

Wilson, who worked previously in physician recruitment and currently part-time as a doctor, said there are many unanswered questions around Nova Scotia’s plan to connect residents with family physicians.

“How many family doctors do we actually need to recruit? What’s the target? And is there a strategy? We asked for a strategy and they said there was one, but it wasn’t available,” said Wilson.

Wilson said a clear annual goal for recruitment is needed and should be publicized.

In terms of the 65 vacancies, Wilson argues that it might not be the full extent of Nova Scotia’s need. He explains that doctors have varying levels of medical commitments and not all take on the average patient load of 1,317 people.

“They may work full time but only be in their office part time. So in order to have a fully operational open office, how many doctors will it take to fill the 65 (vacancies)?” said Wilson.

“There’s a difference between recruitment and access, and the access gaps are still there across the province,” said Wilson. “So, it’s measuring recruitment, but it doesn’t tell us if it is closing the gap because we don’t know what the goal is.”