Physician workforce characteristics in Canada, 1987–2021
| Characteristic | No. (%) of physicians* | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–1991 n = 1769 | 1997–2001 n = 2419 | 2007–2011 n = 3187 | 2017–2021 n = 3425 | |
| Tenure†, yr, mean ± SD | 12.1 ± 10.8 | 12.5 ± 10.6 | 13.5 ± 11.0 | 11.7 ± 11.4 |
| Age, yr, mean ± SD | 43.3 ± 11.7 | 44.6 ± 11.6 | 47.3 ± 12.1 | 46.2 ± 12.7 |
| Sex, female | 416 (23.5) | 798 (33.0) | 1131 (35.5) | 1534 (44.8) |
| Family physician | 973 (55.0) | 1414 (58.5) | 1697 (53.1) | 2063 (60.2) |
| Full-time employment‡ | 1642 (92.8) | 2213 (91.5) | 2914 (91.4) | 3128 (91.3) |
| Married | 1623 (91.8) | 2098 (86.7) | 2582 (81.0) | 2724 (79.5) |
| Based in Ontario | 733 (41.4) | 935 (38.6) | 1276 (40.0) | 1538 (44.9) |
| Urban location§ | NA | 2115 (87.4) | 2813 (88.3) | 3098 (90.4) |
| Self-employed and incorporated | 297 (16.8) | 362 (15.0) | 1094 (34.3) | 1745 (50.9) |
| Child aged ≤ 5 yr | 401 (22.7) | 565 (23.4) | 615 (19.3) | 616 (18.0) |
| Born in Canada | NA | NA | 1971 (61.8) | 2043 (59.7) |
Note: NA = not available, data not collected by Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey during this period; SD = standard deviation.
↵* Unless indicated otherwise.
↵† Tenure is defined as years in current job.
↵‡ Full-time employment is defined as working 30 hours per week or more.
↵§ Rural or urban location in the Labour Force Survey follows the Canadian census definitions.