Immigrate to Canada as a Dentist: Everything you need to know

Job Bank, Canada’s job search and career planning website, ranks the expected job outlook for dentists across the country as “good” to “very good”, the highest ranking, for the next eight years.
“For dentists, a total of 13,500 new vacancies are expected to arise over the period 2022 – 2031 due to expansion demand and replacement demand, while 10,500 new job seekers due to school leavers, immigration and mobility are expected to be available to fill them. ” notes Jobbank.
That’s an expected 3,000 jobs for dentists who will be begging for a lack of qualified candidates to fill those positions.
“While this profession has had a balanced market in recent years, projected job vacancies for job seekers are expected to be significantly higher, creating a labor shortage in the period 2022 – 2031.”
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With Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announcing earlier this year that Canada’s Fast entry system will start targeting 82 jobs this summer in healthcare, technology, commerce, transportation and agriculture – including dentists – foreigners hoping to immigrate to Canada are now looking at a new opportunity to permanent residence here.
The flagship Express Entry selection system has previously only conducted draws based on immigration programs, not targeting specific occupations.
Applicants must have at least six months of continuous work experience in Canada or abroad within the past three years in one of these occupations to be eligible, experience that may have been gained while working in Canada as temporary foreign workers with a work permits or as an international student with a student visa.
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The opportunities are there.
There were already 80 vacancies for dentists, categorized under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 system with the code 31110, posted to Job Bank at the end of June, some of which come from employers looking to hire more than one employee.
The job site Indeed.ca returned 1,481 responses to a search using the word “dentist,” but admittedly, many of those jobs were for dental assistants and dental hygienists.
The most jobs for dentists listed on Job Bank, 56.5 percent, were in Canada’s most populous province, Ontario.
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In Canada, the median annual income for dentists is $118,394, but that ranges from a low of $30,128 a year to $261,517, Job Bank reveals.
The highest incomes for dentists are in Alberta, where these medical professionals can earn up to $344,374 annually.
Among the changes announced at the end of May, Express Entry streams, including the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program, Federal Skilled Commerce (FST) program and Canadian experience class (CEC), as well as parts of the Provincial nominated programs (PNP) will now better respond to the needs of the labor market.
Immigration Minister opened 82 appeals for targeted draws
“Everywhere I go, I have heard loud and clear from employers across the country who are experiencing chronic labor shortages,” said Immigration Secretary Sean Fraser.
“These changes to the Express Entry system will ensure they have the skilled employees they need to grow and succeed. We can also grow our economy and help companies with labor shortages, while also increasing the number of francophone candidates to help ensure the vitality of francophone communities.”
Canada first signaled its intention to launch profession-specific draws via Express Entry last June when changes were made to the Immigration, Refugee and Protection Act to allow invitations based on occupations and other characteristics, such as language skills.
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Most Canadian provinces have been issuing job-specific invitations for several years.
Under the amendments to the law, the immigration minister is required to consult with provinces and territories, industry members, unions, employers, workers, worker advocacy groups, settlement provider organizations, and immigration researchers and practitioners before announcing new categories.
IRCC is also required to report annually to Parliament on the categories chosen and the rationale for the choices.
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) says the number of occupations with a shortage will double between 2019 and 2021. From 2018 to 2022, federal high-skilled admissions accounted for between 34 and 40 percent of total francophone admissions outside of Quebec, which is its own immigration intake.