Job prospects Family Physician in Ontario

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "family physician" in Ontario or Canada.

Job opportunities in Ontario

Note: These outlooks were updated on November 29th, 2023. Learn more about our methodology.

Prospects over the next 3 years

Very good

The employment outlook will be very good for General practitioners and family physicians (NOC 31102) in Ontario for the 2023-2025 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

  • Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
  • Several positions will become available due to retirements.

What Types of Employers Are Out There?

  • Offices of physicians
  • Hospitals

What are the Main Trends Affecting Employment?

  • Increased need for health care services to support the growing and aging population in Ontario
  • Greater demand on the health care system because of a backlog of medical exams, tests and patient care needs
  • Investments in health care facilities
  • Demand may be greater in rural and northern communities of Ontario

What Skills Do I Need to Succeed?

  • Registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is required

What Other Information Will I Find Helpful?

  • Some positions may require working long or irregular hours to meet patient needs and being on call for emergencies
  • Bridging Programs are available to assist internationally-trained professionals in various fields enter the labour market more quickly in Ontario.

Here are some key facts about General practitioners and family physicians in Ontario:

  • Approximately 29,350 people work in this occupation.
  • General practitioners and family physicians mainly work in the following sectors:
    • Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 61%
    • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 33%
  • The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
    • Full-time workers: 91% compared to 81% for all occupations
    • Part-time workers: 9% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • 68% of general practitioners and family physicians work all year, while 32% work only part of the year, compared to 63% and 37% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 47 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
  • 65% of general practitioners and family physicians are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
  • The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
    • Men: 51% compared to 52% for all occupations
    • Women: 49% compared to 48% for all occupations
  • The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
    • no high school diploma: n/a
    • high school diploma or equivalent: n/a
    • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: n/a
    • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: n/a
    • bachelor's degree: n/a
    • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: more than 95% compared to 13% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Ontario by economic region.

Legend

0 out of 5 stars
Undetermined
1 out of 5 stars
Very limited
2 out of 5 stars
Limited
3 out of 5 stars
Moderate
4 out of 5 stars
Good
5 out of 5 stars
Very good
Location Job prospects
Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula Region Very good
Kingston–Pembroke Region Very good
Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie Region Very good
London Region Good
Muskoka–Kawarthas Region Very good
Northeast Region Very good
Northwest Region Very good
Ottawa Region Very good
Stratford–Bruce Peninsula Region Very good
Toronto Region Very good
Windsor-Sarnia Region Very good

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "family physician" in Ontario or Canada.

Learn more

Labour Market Information Survey
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