The recency of the data varies by source and is updated regularly as more recent data becomes available. Where possible, data is as recent as fiscal year 2023–2024.

Users are encouraged to refer to the related methodology notes for more details around data availability and collection periods. There may be instances of data variances or gaps; for example, the COVID-19 pandemic affected the timeliness of reporting in some jurisdictions, impacting data comparability. Collecting, processing, validating, and publishing accurate data is a complex and labour-intensive task. We are committed to supporting our data partners in streamlining and improving this process and aim to bring updated data into these dashboards as soon as it is available.

Data visualizations offered within the dashboards are aggregated at the pan-Canadian and provincial/territorial levels to give a high-level summary of key health workforce trends. Those looking for more detailed data are encouraged to check out our downloadable Data Catalogue and navigate to the How to Access tabs to learn more about the data request process. We have developed an accompanying occupation mapping guide to help you in selecting data holding and occupation names in your request to ensure efficiency in processing your data request.

Data on the supply of dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants is available in the Provider Profiles dashboard, including the total number and the number per 10,000 population at the provincial/territorial level. Data from Statistics Canada’s Oral Health Survey is also featured in the Primary Health Care dashboard, including information on Canadians’ access to oral health services and dental insurance coverage.

We continue to work with data partners to support collection and availability of more detailed and timely data on oral health and other health care providers.

Most of the data on Canada’s nurses presented within the dashboards is self-reported through the annual license registration/renewal process, which not only supports regulation of the nursing professions but also provides valuable information on head counts, geospatial distribution, employment characteristics, and practice trends.

Some regulatory colleges collect information on the specialized areas in which health care providers work (e.g., critical care, geriatrics, oncology, pediatrics). These specializations may require formal certifications for clinical practice. Additionally, nurses may also receive on-the-job training to work in specialty areas of practice that would not be captured by a formal certification.

While aggregated data on nurses’ areas of practice is currently reported in the dashboards (i.e., data is summarized into the areas of direct care, research, administration, and other), CIHI’s Nursing in Canada methodology notes and data standards documentation provide more details on the types of specialties or areas of practice that are collected for nurses. This more granular data may be available through data requests. The process for this is outlined in the How to Access tab in our downloadable Data Catalogue.

The Provider Profiles dashboard currently provides information on the proportion of licensed health care providers who graduated outside of Canada but does not display detailed information on the countries that IEHPs (internationally educated health professionals) migrated from, nor the volumes of IEHPs moving into Canada and their destinations. Future iterations will look to advance information about IEHPs as more data becomes available, as well as other priority areas.

For more detailed migration data, including country-specific information, please refer to the CIHI profession-specific data tables.

HWC recognizes the gap in coverage for several key health professions, including public health professionals. We are committed to working with our data partners and other stakeholders to improve data coverage on more health care providers as the information becomes available and is determined to be fit for use.

The dashboards developed by HWC are the result of over 20 years of data standardization and collection work by the people of CIHI, Statistics Canada, regulatory colleges, health care workers, employers, governments, advocates and data enthusiasts alike. The initial release was scoped around the data available and fit-for-use at the time. The functionality, usability, and cost of various business intelligence (BI) platforms were assessed, leading to the selection of AWS QuickSight. 

Yes, subject matter experts from across the country were consulted during the development of the dashboards and continue to provide advice on future directions. HWC has formed a pan-Canadian advisory group consisting of multi-disciplinary experts from professional organizations, employers, CIHI, Statistics Canada, Health Canada, the research community, various levels of government, and more. Additional consultation with provincial and territorial ministries of health as well as regions will help further guide improvements, including on how to provide additional insights and context to the data presented in the dashboards.

We recognize that data from stewards such as CIHI and provincial and territory data counts have historically differed for various reasons, which can complicate comparisons of pan-Canadian data. These differences often arise from varying time periods or methods for data collection across professions and jurisdictions (e.g., calendar years vs. fiscal years, different inclusion/exclusion criteria, etc.). For more detailed information on data collection specific to each data set currently included in the dashboard, please refer to CIHI’s methodology notes.

To support the goal of ensuring a sustainable and satisfied health workforce in Canada, the tool will remain fully transparent, open to the public and free to use.

Data tables downloaded from the Workforce in View or Policy Tracker modules will reflect the filters you have selected. To see all raw data in a table format for deeper analysis, you can consult CIHI or Statistics Canada source data tables. Information on, and links to, source data are always included in the notes section at the bottom of each dashboard.

Most metrics are currently available by profession and province and territory. Data on the number of providers per 10,000 population are additionally reported at the health region level. Future updates to the dashboards will expand the number of metrics available at the health region level, and we continue to explore opportunities for even deeper granularity. We recognize visibility at every level is important and will have a place on our larger dashboard roadmap where possible.

HWC dashboards do not currently include health workforce supply and demand projections; however, HWC is working to catalyze Canada-wide capacity for health workforce modeling and forecasting. We are currently engaged with federal, provincial, and territorial health workforce stakeholders to evolve the health workforce modelling and forecasting space and we are committed to sharing those advances.

The Policy Tracker is developed and maintained by CIHI and is updated quarterly. Relevant policies and interventions relating to defined priority areas are extracted from public announcements on federal, provincial, and territorial governments and professional association’s official websites through manual web scraping.

The entries are collected using a set of pre-determined scanning criteria and are verified to ensure correctness and consistency across the meta-data entered. Visualizations for total counts across categories are refreshed each quarter and a comparison to the original data source is conducted to validate.

The latter portion of the June 20th, 2024, discussion included an opportunity for participants to share with us where they’d like to see our dashboards go next. HWC has been actively engaging partners and stakeholders since our formation in November 2023 and it remains an important part of our strategic planning into the future.

Our team will continue to work with our advisory group, partners and dashboard users to develop a blueprint that will guide future development. The blueprint will connect information needs with available data sources, as well as identify gaps and opportunities to improve data capture and timeliness. These learnings will be a key part of the work HWC is leading to advance a pan-Canadian health workforce data strategy.

HWC thanks all those who have contributed to the development and publication of these dashboards. Ongoing feedback is welcomed to continue further enhancements and ensure development of a value-added product!