By Alec Lazenby– Vancouver Sun – Published Mar 11, 2025
B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne said she didn’t know how many doctors will take up the call, but pointed to the campaign last year to encourage doctors from the U.K. and Ireland to move to B.C. as a success. Photo by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESS
Health Minister Josie Osborne announced a new marketing campaign to entice medical staff to B.C., including reducing the credential process to six weeks.
The provincial government is launching a marketing campaign to entice U.S. doctors and nurses to move to B.C. and working to reduce the credentialing process to six weeks for those wanting to move north of the border.
Health Minister Josie Osborne said Tuesday there are two reasons behind the move — to help address the acute shortage of health-care workers in the province, and to strike back against tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“I think this is a very challenging time for some health-care workers to be in the United States with what they are facing,” Osborne told reporters at the legislature.
“Whether it’s because their federal government is withdrawing from the World Health Organization, cutting public services or attacking reproductive rights, health professionals in the U.S. have a good reason to be alarmed.”
The health ministry said it is working with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. to ensure all physicians registered with the American Board of Medical Specialties will be able to obtain licences to work in B.C. without having to go through any additional training or tests.
The B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives is also collaborating with the province to allow nurses registered in the U.S. to apply directly to the college, which will then review their qualifications and speed up timelines.
Currently, the process for gaining credentials takes five to eight months, including pre-screening, and the ministry is confident it can get that down to six weeks over the coming months.
Osborne said she didn’t know how many doctors will take up the call, but pointed to a campaign last year to encourage doctors from the U.K. and Ireland to move to B.C. as a success. There has so far been no data released showing how many physicians that campaign brought to the province.
The minister also touted her government’s efforts to get British Columbians a family physician, saying 250,000 people were provided a doctor or nurse practitioner last year and that the province has added over 1,000 family doctors since introducing a new pay model in 2023.
