Government Jobs in Healthcare – Canada

While office jobs constitute the majority of government employment opportunities, there are also positions for most healthcare professionals. Healthcare jobs can be found in each level of government: federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal or regional.

Federal Government

Federal government jobs are posted on the website of the Public Service Commission of Canada. On the site, those not already employed by the government should go to Jobs Open to the Public or Post Secondary Recruitment. The public jobs section lists jobs with no geographic restrictions (thus open to all Canadians regardless of their area of residence) and by region.

Health Canada and Correctional Services of Canada are the two main federal employers of healthcare workers. Health Canada positions include epidemiologists, health information coordinators, health risk assessment, toxicology specialists, and nurses. Correctional Services of Canada positions include pharmacists, nurses, and occupational therapists. Other departments, such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, also employ healthcare professionals (usually occupational health doctors or nurses).

The Department of National Defense (DND)

The DND advertises its jobs at www.recruiting.dnd.ca. (The DND advertises civilian jobs on the Public Service Commission website, but, at present, civilian jobs are in non-healthcare areas only.) Each branch of the DND (army, navy, air force, and the reserves) employs healthcare professionals as officers or non-commissioned members. Officers are those ranked lieutenant and higher, such as captain, major, colonel, or general, and non-commissioned members are those ranked lower than lieutenant, such as warrant officer, sergeant, corporal, or private. Officers sign on for nine years, and non-commissioned members sign on for three years. (Keep in mind that every new member of the Canadian Forces must complete basic training in soldier skills. Officers are required to take leadership courses as part of their basic training.)

Officer positions include healthcare administrators, physicians, registered nurses (with a university degree), pharmacists, physical therapists, and social workers (MSW). Non-commissioned positions include BMETs, medical technicians, medical laboratory technicians (the DND uses this term but actually require Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science registered medical technologists), and X-ray technicians (again, the DND uses this term but require registered radiographers). Additionally, the army has dentists (officers) and dental clinical assistants (non-commissioned members).

Those seeking officer positions may be eligible to have their education paid for by the government. The DND offers the Regular Officer Training Program (ROTP). The ROTP allows a person to complete their university education (such as BScN, BPharm), under DND sponsorship, prior to commencing full-time employment as an officer, such as a nursing officer or pharmacy officer. To be eligible for the ROTP, one must have the required prerequisites to start a degree program, such as nursing or pharmacy, or they must be enrolled already in a relevant Bachelor's degree program.

The Medical Officer Training Plan (MOTP) allows those who have been accepted into a Canadian medical school to be sponsored for up to three years of medical school and two years of internship. Sponsorship means that the government pays tuition, books, and fees as well as a monthly salary. (And the army is actively seeking junior medical officers, offering signing bonuses worth up to C$180,000.) The Dental Officer Training Plan (DOTP), which operates in a similar way to the MOTP program, covers tuition, books, and instruments for up to four years and pays a monthly salary.

Provincial/Territorial Government

Every province and territory has a ministry of health (e.g., Ministry of Health and Social Services, Ministry of Health and Wellness). Most provincial government websites (see below) also have job pages, which list positions across all of the provincial or territorial ministries, and, sometimes, for example in Alberta and Saskatchewan, the sites list jobs in the various provincial health regions.

As with the federal government, jobs can be found in the ministries of health (as health liaison officers, policy analysts, social workers, pharmacists, nurses, doctors, epidemiologists) as well as other ministries, such as the provincial/territorial correctional services (for nurses, doctors, social workers, psychologists, mental health workers) and the labour departments (for nurses, doctors, social workers, case managers, audiologists, occupational health, and safety specialists). Workers' compensation boards also employ healthcare professionals (e.g., nurses, claims managers).

Regional/Municipal Government

Regional and municipal governments employ healthcare professionals, such as health promotion officers, public health nurses, and occupational health nurses. These positions are advertised in various places including local newspapers, city/regional websites, and job boards.

Provincial Government Job Sites

• British Columbia

• Alberta

• Saskatchewan

• Manitoba

• Ontario

• Quebec

• Newfoundland & Labrador

• Prince Edward Island

• New Brunswick

• Nova Scotia

• Nunavut