Why More American Doctors Are Moving to Canada Under Trump's Presidency
Earlier this year, a U.S.-trained emergency room physician named Michael made the difficult decision to leave his home country behind. The decision wasn't spurred by professional issues alone; it was deeply personal, political, and moral. As the Trump administration reshapes federal institutions, Michael, along with a growing number of American doctors, is seeking refuge and renewed purpose in Canada’s more stable healthcare landscape.
An increasing number of U.S. doctors are relocating to Canada, citing political instability, healthcare concerns, and professional burnout.
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He now practices medicine in a small-town Canadian hospital and requested anonymity due to concerns about reprisals should he return to the United States. Michael says his move was driven by what he perceives as an erosion of compassion and humanity in American public life. “Being a physician is about caring for people at their most vulnerable,” he said. “But I saw our country moving in the opposite direction—toward cruelty.”
Canadian officials are seeing these sentiments reflected in hard numbers. The Medical Council of Canada reported a 750% surge in U.S. doctors creating accounts on its licensing portal within a seven-month span. These accounts represent the earliest step toward Canadian medical licensure, and the scale of the increase is historically unprecedented.
Medical licensing bodies across Canada’s most populous provinces confirm a notable uptick in applications and certifications from American physicians. Many explicitly attribute their desire to relocate to disillusionment with the Trump administration. Recruiting firms have also felt the shift. CanAm Physician Recruiting, a major Canadian medical recruitment agency, has experienced a 65% increase in job inquiries from American doctors within just four months.
John Philpott, CanAm’s CEO, described the wave as politically motivated. “These doctors don’t hesitate to say it—they’re uncomfortable, even embarrassed, to remain in the U.S. under the current administration,” he said.
Canadian provinces, facing their own physician shortages, have responded by streamlining the licensing process. British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec have all reported a surge in American-trained doctors either applying or being licensed, with numbers in some regions more than doubling or even tripling compared to previous years.
What once seemed a complicated leap between two different healthcare systems has become more navigable. Licensing agencies have reduced barriers, allowing physicians like Michael to transition more swiftly. The paperwork remains rigorous, but many are finding the move worth the effort.
The political shift in the U.S. has added new layers of urgency. Physicians cite a range of concerns: undermining of public health institutions, anti-science rhetoric, diminished pandemic preparedness, and radical changes to healthcare leadership. These changes have alienated many who once saw the U.S. as a leader in medical science and ethics.
Among those feeling the impact is Dr. Ashwini Bapat, co-founder of Hippocratic Adventures, a consulting group that helps U.S. physicians practice abroad. Originally focused on facilitating adventurous careers abroad, the group has seen a marked change in clientele. “It used to be about exploring the world,” Bapat said. “Now it’s about escaping the U.S.”
Some doctors, like family physician Alison Carleton, made the move even before Trump’s reelection, anticipating further political instability. She now works in Manitoba, where she reports a vastly improved quality of life, lower administrative burdens, and a more humane healthcare philosophy. Carleton renounced her American citizenship in 2024.
Recruiters and licensing bodies confirm that doctors are willing to accept lower salaries to practice in Canada if it means escaping the political volatility. Even rural provinces such as Manitoba are capitalizing on this momentum, launching targeted campaigns in conservative U.S. states that highlight Canada’s political neutrality in the patient-doctor relationship.
For Michael and many others, the final push came not from policy but from violence. The events of January 6, 2021, convinced him that America’s political future was veering into dangerous territory. He worried for his family, for his patients, and for the soul of his profession.
Doctors once drawn to Canada by its universal healthcare system are now propelled by something more immediate: the need to align their values with their work.
