Yukon’s find-a-health-provider waitlist down by half as territory welcomes new doctors
The territorial government also created a new licensing path for some internationally trained physicians
The Yukon’s waitlist to get matched with a health practitioner, including doctors and nurses, is down by close to half since January, as the territory welcomes 12 new doctors.
Brad Cathers, territorial health minister, said that since November 2025, when the Yukon Party was elected to form government, nine physicians have moved to the Yukon. Three more are moving to the territory by September, he said.
Additionally, Cathers said a U.S. doctor who has been recruited and is starting out as a locum, temporarily filling in for physicians, hasn’t decided on whether or not to move to the territory.
“We recognize that there are a lot of U.S. health professionals that are interested in considering moving north to Canada and we are pleased to roll out the welcome mat for them,” he said.
“We are seeing it as an opportunity considering the situation south of the border.”
Cathers said the Yukon government will keep supporting recruiting efforts by attending conferences in the United States, as officials review what approaches and advertisements are working to lure doctors.
“That direct face-to-face contact is also an important part of efforts to convince somebody to move to the territory,” Cathers said.
He attributes the new recruits to multiple approaches, including through the longitudinal family medicine program, which started in April and requires participants to take on at least 10 patients.
“We’re in somewhat early days on those efforts, but believe that there is significant potential,” Cathers said.
Doctors up, waitlist down
A government news release notes three Francophone doctors are set to arrive this summer, with two posted at the Constellation Health Centre, a bilingual clinic in Whitehorse.
One of those doctors will also serve hospitalized patients at the Whitehorse General Hospital.
The third physician will join the emergency department there.
As the queue moves along, Constellation has been making calls to Yukoners who have been waiting to be paired with a health provider to let them know they have been matched or to confirm they are still waiting for a match.
The waitlist for a health provider has been reduced from 4,606 people on Jan. 26, to 2,445 people, as of July 20.
The government is encouraging residents who remain unattached to register with the find-a-primary-care-provider program.
When asked, Cathers didn’t offer targets or timelines for the number of doctors the territory needs or further reducing the proportion of Yukoners on the waitlist.
Recruitment goes on
Earlier this month, Cathers issued a declaration of need for family doctors from the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia. This way, he said, the territory isn’t snatching physicians from other Canadian jurisdictions that are also struggling to build and maintain their health workforces.
The declaration, addressed to Dr. Sudit Ranade, the territory’s chief medical health officer, allows the Yukon Medical Council to issue licences for the limited family practice register to qualified doctors trained in those approved countries. The new path won’t require additional practice assessment or a supervised period of practice.
“This declaration will help support access to family medicine while maintaining the standards Yukoners expect,” Ranade said in a news release.
During an interview, Dr. Derek Bryant, president of the Yukon Medical Association, called the new licensing pathway a “worthwhile initiative.”
While Yukon residents are being matched with providers, Bryant said a growing population in the territory counterbalances those efforts.
“We don’t have a workforce right now that can ensure access for every Yukoner. And so there’s still more work that needs to be done,” Bryant said.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Hospitals flag ‘unfunded’ pressure points, $2.5M deficit to Yukon health minister, CBC News
Finland: Brakes on Lapland health cuts a win for Arctic communities, says Sami Parliament, Eye on the Arctic
United States: Senators, including Alaska’s, sound alarm on cuts impacting Indigenous health care agency, Eye on the Arctic
