Job prospects Physician, Primary Care in Ontario

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "physician, primary care" in Ontario or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Ontario

These outlooks were updated on November 29, 2023.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be very good for General practitioners and family physicians (NOC 31102) in Ontario for the 2023-2025 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
• Several positions will become available due to retirements.

What Types of Employers Are Out There?

• Offices of physicians
• Hospitals

What are the Main Trends Affecting Employment?

• Increased need for health care services to support the growing and aging population in Ontario
• Greater demand on the health care system because of a backlog of medical exams, tests and patient care needs
• Investments in health care facilities
• Demand may be greater in rural and northern communities of Ontario

What Skills Do I Need to Succeed?

• Registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is required

What Other Information Will I Find Helpful?

• Some positions may require working long or irregular hours to meet patient needs and being on call for emergencies
• Bridging Programs are available to assist internationally-trained professionals in various fields enter the labour market more quickly in Ontario.

Here are some key facts about General practitioners and family physicians in Ontario:

• Approximately 29,350 people work in this occupation.
• General practitioners and family physicians mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 61%
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 33%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 91% compared to 81% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 9% compared to 19% for all occupations
• 68% of general practitioners and family physicians work all year, while 32% 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 47 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• 65% of general practitioners and family physicians are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 51% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 49% 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: n/a
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: n/a
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: n/a
  • bachelor's degree: n/a
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: more than 95% compared to 13% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Ontario by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "physician, primary care" in Ontario or across Canada.

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