Job prospects Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner (PHCNP) in Ontario

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "primary health care nurse practitioner (PHCNP)" in Ontario or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Ontario

These outlooks were updated on November 29, 2023.

Good

The employment outlook will be good for Nurse practitioners (NOC 31302) in Ontario for the 2023-2025 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What Types of Employers Are Out There?

The majority are employed in health care, notably in hospitals; offices of physicians and out-patient care centres are also key employers

What are the Main Trends Affecting Employment?

Increased need for health-related services to support the growing and aging population in Ontario
Greater demand on the health care system because of the backlog of medical procedures and patient care needs
Major investments in health care facilities

What Skills Do I Need to Succeed?

Nurse practitioners are regulated by the College of Nurses of Ontario and the role is open to registered nurses (RNs) who have additional education and experience

What Other Information Will I Find Helpful?

Generally, Bridging Programs are available to assist internationally trained professionals in various fields enter the labour market more quickly in the province

Here are some key facts about Nurse practitioners in Ontario:

Approximately 3,950 people work in this occupation.
Nurse practitioners mainly work in the following sectors:
- Hospitals (NAICS 622): 52%
- Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 39%
The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
- Full-time workers: 87% compared to 81% for all occupations
- Part-time workers: 13% compared to 19% for all occupations
78% of nurse practitioners work all year, while 22% work only part of the year, compared to 63% and 37% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 46 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
5% of nurse practitioners are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
- Men: 8% compared to 52% for all occupations
- Women: 92% compared to 48% for all occupations
The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
- no high school diploma: n/a
- high school diploma or equivalent: less than 5% compared to 25% for all occupations
- apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: n/a
- college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: less than 5% compared to 22% for all occupations
- bachelor's degree: 6% compared to 24% for all occupations
- university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 92% compared to 13% for all occupations

Explore job prospects in Ontario by economic region.

Location	Job prospects
Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula Region	Good
Kingston–Pembroke Region	Very good
Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie Region	Good
London Region	Very good
Muskoka–Kawarthas Region	Good
Northeast Region	Good
Northwest Region	Good
Ottawa Region	Good
Stratford–Bruce Peninsula Region	Moderate
Toronto Region	Good
Windsor-Sarnia Region	Good