Health minister Osborne says B.C. recruited more than 140 health U.S. care staff

VICTORIA — British Columbia Health Minister Josie Osborne says the province is “doing very well” in its recruiting drive of health care professionals from the United States, but admits that it will take time to convert that interest into staffing positions.

Osborne says more than 140 health-care workers from the United States — including 80 nurses and 38 doctors — have accepted positions with B.C. health authorities since the launch of its campaign in March 2025.

Osborne, who was speaking at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities’ annual convention in Victoria, says the figure “bodes well” for the campaign, which has produced some 1,400 job applications from U.S. health workers.

The campaign included a digital advertising blitz launched in June at an estimated cost of $5 million aimed at health-care workers in the states of Washington, Oregon and California.

Osborne says it is not surprising that many U.S. health workers are looking to B.C. when they see the “erosion of rights, disregard of science and the denial of universal health care” in their own country.

Premier David Eby pledged last year that government would recruit 45,000 new health care workers over the next four years to help fill gaps.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2025.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press