Nearly 2,000 nurses under the age of 35 left the profession in Quebec in 2024, according to a new study published Thursday. In the 2026 Evolution of the Nursing Supply in Canada published by the Montreal Economic Institute, the institute calculated the ratio of young nurses leaving the profession to those entering it in each Canadian province, analyzing changes from 2024, the previous year, and a decade earlier. In Quebec, 37 nurses under 35 chose not to renew their licence to practice for every 100 who entered the workforce in 2024 — a total of 1,931—resulting in an outflow-to-inflow ratio of 0.37. The study found that while most provinces’ ratios improved in 2024 compared to the year prior, Quebec’s did not. “Whereas most provinces saw the ratio of outflow to inflow drop compared to the previous year and the post-pandemic peak, Quebec bucked the trend and saw its ratio remain virtually unchanged from 2023,” the study states. “At 37 young nurses not renewing their license to practice for every 100 who entered the field, its ratio is also higher than the national average of 34.” The province’s nursing shortage has also grown substantially in the last decade. According to the institute, Quebec is short more than 8,273 nurses, compared with 1,677 in 2015. Quebec’s Bill 10 According to the institute, one possible explanation is Quebec’s Bill 10, which limits the use of private staffing agencies and subcontractors in the health and social services sector. The legislation was introduced in 2023, with implementation to be completed by the end of 2026. Introduced by the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government, the first phase of the restrictions covered Montreal, the Quebec City region, Laval, Montérégie, and Chaudière-Appalaches. Remote regions, including Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Côte-Nord, la Gaspésie, Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Outaouais, were supposed to follow. “Agencies offer flexibility — more control over schedules, better work-life balance, etc. — that some nurses value, and that for some of them agency work comes before leaving the profession,” said Florence Plourde, the institute’s communications manager. “Restricting that option without improving flexibility in the public system risks pushing some of them out of the profession.” Since December 2024, Santé Québec has been the sole employer across the province’s health and social services network. This arrangement prevents network employees from simutaneously working as independent contractors within the system, Plourde explained. The study also cited a recent survey by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, which found that 53 per cent of respondents showed signs of burnout, 29 per cent met clinical thresholds for anxiety, and 22 per cent met clinical thresholds for depression. “We also argue that because nursing is embedded in the public sector, market mechanisms like rising wages and better conditions can’t correct the shortage the way they normally would,” Plourde said.
