Advocacy Roundup April to July, 2026
Reporting Period: April – July 2026
Executive Summary
During April to July 2026, ITPC’s advocacy efforts focused on advancing policy solutions to improve the integration of internationally trained physicians (ITPs) and ITP specialists into Canada's healthcare workforce.
Key priorities included addressing primary care workforce shortages, expanding ladder-to-licensure pathways, improving the integration of ITP specialists including dermatologists, raising recency of practice as a major barrier, and strengthening system-level engagement with federal stakeholders.
Key Activities
April 2026
Amongst other interactions, ITPC had a key engagement with Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) where a presentation on the findings with the ITPC specialist report was given. A discussion on understanding the population needs in relation to open opportunities for ITP specialists, and their commitment to creating programs to help support ITPs to integrate into Canadian practice after being licensed. Stakeholders acknowledged the issues and also agreed to expand their efforts with regards to communication with ITPs.
May 2026
ITPC advocated for advancing licensure pathways and reducing barriers to ITP specialists integration into the health workforce at key engagements with regulatory bodies, including the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM), Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FMRAC), stakeholders in Medical Council of Canada (MCC), and the Federal Ministry of Health.
Engagement with:
CPSM: There was a request for feedback from ITPC on the proposed creation of a new physician registration class called Provisional (Other Approved Training) to address urgent workforce needs. ITPC made an official submission to the CPSM with advice on the most beneficial changes that would help ITPs.
FMRAC Jurisdictional Working group: ITPC presented evidence using the ITPC Specialist Report, and in an observer capacity, continued involvement in the analysis of the evaluation framework tool being developed to expand the current approved jurisdictions to allow more ITPs to access licensure more quickly.
Senior Policy Advisor, Federal Minister of Health's Office: ITPC gave a presentation highlighting the various barriers ITP specialists face integrating into the Canadian Healthcare system as well as the central role the Federal Government can play in overcoming these barriers. Some challenges highlighted from the specialist report are misalignment of Immigration and Certification & Licensure, limited and inequitable access to specialist medical residency spots, recency of Practice requirements, financial challenges. We recommended: a unified immigration-licensure taskforce, relieving financial burden through Federal funding, supporting residency expansion by increasing funding in competitive specialist residency spots according to high-need specialties, and ITP access to ALL specialties. Supporting Recency of Practice through Federal Investment in supervised clinical re-entry programs was also discussed. These stakeholders are keenly interested in working with us going forward. ITPC is currently working on a policy brief on Recency of Practice that will be shared with the stakeholders.
MCC IMG Alliance Working Group: ITPC was invited to join as a member of the MCC IMG Alliance and ITPC representatives including some of our ITPC Regional Representatives are participating in three working groups. These working groups focus on different aspects including: Pathways (exploring how ITPs enter practice), Capacity (the number of spots available for Residency, PRA, and alternate pathways), and Maximizing ITP success (pre- and post-licensure supports and outcomes). The overall goal will be to produce a report containing recommendations for improving the ITP journey to licensure.
June 2026
ITPC emphasized the need for the advancement of the specialist PRA pathway using the ITP Specialist report, and the strengthening of the entry pathways for ITPs. ITPC continued its progress on the Intillium project, a centralized platform being created to enable the connection of ITPs and employers, enhancing more accessibility of information and opportunities. There was also a new engagement with stakeholders from the Canadian Dermatology Association.
Engagement with:
FMRAC: ITPC collaborated to give feedback on the final report focused on the Jurisdictional Recognition (JR) project and the development of a structured approach for assessing international jurisdictions to support the recognition of Internationally Trained Specialist physicians in Canada. The emphasis was on evaluating systems and jurisdictions rather than individual physicians, with the broader objective of supporting a transparent, consistent, and evidence-informed approach to expanding jurisdictional recognition. ITPC attended the working group meetings as an observer of the process.
Canadian Dermatology Association: Stakeholders reached out to ITPC and we met with them about ways dermatology-trained ITPs could be better incorporated into team-based care models across Canada. Stakeholders requested data from ITPC on dermatology-trained ITPs, and any insights to support future discussions. There was a mutual interest in exploring opportunities to better utilize the skills of dermatology ITPs within the Canadian healthcare system. ITPC conducted a quick survey of our membership to understand the training ITPs have in postgraduate dermatology.
MCC IMG Alliance Working Group: ITPC will contribute to the report being prepared by the three working groups, by highlighting the issues from the perspective of ITPs with a targeted focus on national capacity, available pathways, barriers, and supporting data.
Intillium Project: ITPC is working with Intillium to develop a centralized platform that will enable the connection of ITPs and employers. This will enhance more accessibility of information and opportunities for ITPs. An ITP form has been finalized with ongoing plans to design the employer form for the ITP-Employer interface.
MCC PRA representatives: ITPC called for the strengthening of Practice-ready pathways by presenting a Specialist ITP Report highlighting opportunities regarding Specialist ITPs. The MCC representative’s perspective and general stakeholder perspective on ITPC’s presentation were communicated. Further discussions to continue on ITPC’s ladder to licensure work and future collaboration on licensed AP/CA roles.
July 2026
ITPC focused on advocating and promoting the Ladder to Licensure Framework, the proposed Recency of Practice policy brief, and strengthening the existing pathways. Collaboration with the three MCC-Alliance working groups resulted in good progress in some of the initiatives set out by the group.
Engagement with:
CPSM: ITPC facilitated a discussion on the proposal titled “Leveraging Manitoba’s Clinical Assistant Model to maintain/restore recency of practice and ladder to licensure”, the proposed Recency of Practice Policy Brief and the Ladder-to-Licensure model. CPSM expressed genuine interest in the proposals and identified key implementation barriers, including a limited number of qualified assessors, insufficient research data, and limited policy and research capacity to establish eligibility criteria and operationalize a new pathway. The discussion also highlighted workplace-based assessment, assessor reliability and conflicts of interest, the potential role and governance of AI in training and assessment, provincial comparator models, definitions of recency of practice, and whether research, teaching, administration, and other health-related work could contribute to maintaining competence. Stakeholders were interested in the CA research report and will be kept updated on its progress.
MCC - IMG Alliance Working groups:
Working Group 1: A centralised service to navigate licensure pathways was discussed and a draft of the planned report was reviewed and discussed to ensure appropriateness, accuracy and overall readiness.
Working Group 2: Data on residency spot capacity was presented by the AMFC. There was also a discussion on improving the mismatch between Canada's immigration priorities and healthcare workforce planning, especially the resulting effect of poor integration and recruitment of ITPs. A conversation about how the increase in the total number of residency positions do not necessarily translate into greater opportunities for ITPs, as there are nuances that the headline numbers fail to capture. For example, some positions are reserved for specific populations, such as French-speaking applicants or military candidates, making them inaccessible to the broader pool of ITPs.
Working Group 3: Representatives from Manitoba and Nova Scotia presented on wellness and orientation initiatives for ITPs. Members reviewed the comprehensive draft report and recommended strengthening its focus on institutional anti-racism and unconscious bias among physicians, stakeholders, and policymakers. Doctors Manitoba also discussed survey findings showing high levels of burnout, moral distress, and depression among ITPs, which prompted improvements to provincial orientation and support programs.
Looking ahead
Overall, this period reflects the growing effectiveness of ITPC's advocacy, with increased engagement, stronger partnerships, new stakeholders engaged and greater policy visibility.
ITPC is involved in developing further evidence-based research to remove limits in recency of practice requirements, exploring clinical assistant roles as acceptable pathways to licensure, strengthening PRA pathways, and devoted to overcoming the broader systemic barriers that impede the integration of ITPs into the Canadian healthcare system.
Internationally Trained Physicians of Canada (ITPC)
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