Rural and remote communities across Canada are navigating complex health workforce challenges while also advancing innovative, community-led solutions. Each community brings distinct strengths, needs, histories and realities that must be reflected in how health workforce planning is designed and delivered.
Health Workforce Canada is working with partners across the country to co-design an action plan for pan-Canadian rural and remote health workforce planning. Expected to launch in January 2027, the action plan will identify agreed upon areas of focus to address and practical actions to support more coordinated planning shaped by the needs of health workers and the communities they serve.
Why we’re addressing this now
Health workforce challenges are growing across Canada. An aging population is increasing the demand for care, while an aging workforce, rising sick time and recruitment pressures are affecting workforce supply. In rural and remote communities, these pressures can be especially difficult to manage because teams are often smaller, backup capacity may be limited, and travel or temporary staffing can be costly and difficult to sustain.
Many communities, organizations and jurisdictions have been working on these issues for years, supported by existing frameworks, local innovations and ongoing learning. There is now an opportunity to bring this work together through a shared pan-Canadian approach that recognizes the distinct realities of rural, remote and northern settings, as well as First Nations-, Inuit- and Métis-led priorities and solutions.
A collaborative and co-designed approach
We’ve taken the first steps and have brought together a pan-Canadian rural and remote health workforce planning advisory group, established in April 2026, that represents diverse expertise, perspectives and lived experience to support the co-design of the action plan.
Advisory group members represent over 25 partners from across Canada with interest, commitment and expertise in rural and remote health workforce planning. Membership includes representatives from:
- Provincial and territorial governments
- Employers, including Northern, regional, and rural health authorities
- First Nations, Inuit and Métis governments and organizations
- Rural and remote clinical leaders
- Professional associations
- Pan-Canadian Health Organizations
The advisory group will also help shape broader partner engagement on the draft action plan. This engagement will be designed to support meaningful input, strengthen shared ownership and respect distinctions-based approaches with First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners.
Whitehorse workshop: shaping priorities together
A key milestone in the co-design process was a two-day workshop held in Whitehorse, Yukon, June 24 and 25, 2026. The workshop brought advisory group members together to share, learn and work collaboratively to:
- Establish a common vision for rural and remote health workforce planning and ways of working collaboratively
- Develop a shared understanding of rural and remote health workforce priorities across Canada by reviewing current challenges, opportunities and potential actions
- Learn about health workforce planning issues, innovations and solutions currently taking place in the Yukon.
Participants discussed challenges and priorities for consideration recognizing:
- There is a need for sustainable and equitable funding models that recognize the higher costs of rural and remote care, as well as the importance of housing, digital infrastructure, and other supports that enable recruitment and retention.
- Local education, learning-in-place, apprenticeships, micro-credentialing, mentorship, return-to-service approaches, and stronger partnerships between education and health systems are critical to building long-term community capacity.
- Rural and remote communities are places of innovation and should be recognized as leaders in addressing access to health services, workforce renewal, team-based care and future-ready innovation.
- There is a need to acknowledge the effects of racism, historical and ongoing harms, residential school trauma, and systemic inequities, while moving beyond reconciliation language toward Indigenous-led approaches, cultural humility and health care delivery improvements leading to cultural safety.
Next steps / what the action plan is expected to support
Over the next few months, we’ll continue working with our advisory group to co-design the action plan. Once launched, the action plan will be shared by Health Workforce Canada and showcased nationally at our Health Workforce Canada Connects 2027 symposium. It is intended to provide decision-makers and health system partners with clear direction to help them focus efforts and align priorities to strengthen rural and remote health workforce planning across Canada. Over time, this will contribute to more stable and sustainable rural and remote health systems, ultimately benefiting health workers and residents in rural and remote communities across Canada.
Stay connected as this work moves forward and helps shape a shared path toward stronger, more sustainable health workforce planning for rural, remote and northern communities across Canada.