More nurses working in Ontario, but more also leaving, report shows

New figures show the number of nurses active in Ontario is increasing, but more nurses are also leaving the province for work or taking leaves.

New figures show the number of nurses active in Ontario is increasing, but more nurses are also leaving the province for work or taking leaves.

A report from the College of Nurses of Ontario said that this year more than 178,000 nurses renewed their registration with the college, aside from those registered as non-practising, and about 158,000 of them are working as nurses in Ontario.

That's up from about 140,000 working nurses in Ontario in 2016.

But the report said the percentage of nurses working in the province has declined.

In 2016, 91.2 per cent of nurses were working in Ontario in the profession, but this year that's down to 88.9 per cent, as growing numbers of nurses work in nursing outside the province, or take a leave.

"While the total number of nurses renewing their registration and the total number reporting employment in nursing in Ontario have grown each year, modest shifts in registration and employment trends since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have tempered further gains to the workforce," the college said in its report.

The college said more than 9,800 nurses didn't renew their registration this year -- nearly 1,000 more than in 2022 -- though that was offset by about 15,100 gains, mostly new nurses and many of them internationally educated.