As of 2022, nearly one in ten registered nurses in Canada is male. The percentage of male nurses has been slowly increasing since 2006, where just 5.5 percent of registered nurses were men. Still, nursing is a female-dominated profession.
Nurses in Canada
As of 2022, while there were nearly 316 thousand registered nurses (RN) in Canada, just 283 thousand were employed at the time of registration. The average age of a registered nurse in Canada has been decreasing in recent years and is currently 43.3 years. Besides registered nurses, three other nurse professionals are regulated in Canada, nurse practitioners (NP), registered psychiatric nurses (RPN), and licensed practical nurses (LPN). LPNs need less education, while NPs need higher education than RNs.
Nurses by province
The province with the highest number of registered nurses in Canada is Ontario, followed by Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta. Yukon has the smallest number of registered nurses, with just over 630. The average age of a registered nurse can differ by a few years depending on the province. For example, the average age of a registered nurse in Quebec is around 42 years, while it is 46 years in Manitoba.
Gender distribution of registered nurses in Canada from 2006 to 2022
Characteristic
Male
Female
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CIHI. (October 26, 2023). Gender distribution of registered nurses in Canada from 2006 to 2022 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved August 25, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/496975/nurse-distribution-in-canada-by-gender/
CIHI. "Gender distribution of registered nurses in Canada from 2006 to 2022." Chart. October 26, 2023. Statista. Accessed August 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/496975/nurse-distribution-in-canada-by-gender/
CIHI. (2023). Gender distribution of registered nurses in Canada from 2006 to 2022. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: August 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/496975/nurse-distribution-in-canada-by-gender/
CIHI. "Gender Distribution of Registered Nurses in Canada from 2006 to 2022." Statista, Statista Inc., 26 Oct 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/496975/nurse-distribution-in-canada-by-gender/
CIHI, Gender distribution of registered nurses in Canada from 2006 to 2022 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/496975/nurse-distribution-in-canada-by-gender/ (last visited August 25, 2024)
Gender distribution of registered nurses in Canada from 2006 to 2022 [Graph], CIHI, October 26, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/496975/nurse-distribution-in-canada-by-gender/