Dr. Ashleigh Duncan, an American family physician, has been navigating a challenging two-year bureaucratic process to be approved to work in Canada, where a job awaits her in Morriston, Ontario. Despite having over 1,500 patients in need of care and two offices prepared for her arrival, Dr. Duncan is still waiting to overcome immigration and licensing hurdles.
Dr. Duncan, a graduate of Wayne State University School of Medicine, began seeking to move to Canada in 2022 to be closer to family and escape the rising gun violence in the U.S. After being offered a job at a local clinic in November 2022, the expectation was that the process would take six months, but it has dragged on for over two years.
The delay has highlighted the inefficiencies in Canada’s system for recruiting qualified physicians, despite an urgent shortage that has left 6.5 million Canadians without family doctors. While Dr. Duncan’s husband, a civil engineer, was approved to work in Canada within 48 hours, her application has been bogged down by issues with medical licensing, immigration points, and a complex Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
Though Dr. Duncan has been registered by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and is already listed as a practicing doctor, immigration and administrative challenges continue to prevent her from starting work, leaving other local physicians overburdened.