Job prospects Physician Assistant in Ontario

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

Job opportunities in Ontario

These outlooks were updated on December 11, 2024.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be good for Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals (NOC 31303) in Ontario for the 2024-2026 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
• Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What Types of Employers Are Out There?

• The majority are employed in health care, notably in hospitals; offices of physicians are also key employers

What are the Main Trends Affecting Employment?

• Increased need for health-related services to support the growing and aging population in Ontario
• Greater demand on the health care system because of a backlog of medical procedures and patient care needs
• Investments in new hospitals and in mental health services

What Skills Do I Need to Succeed?

• This occupational group includes different specializations and job requirements vary. For example:
• Midwives are regulated by the College of Midwives of Ontario
• In 2021 the province introduced legislation to regulate physician assistants under the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario; the regulation will take effect in April 2025

What Other Information Will I Find Helpful?

• Generally, Bridging Programs are available to assist internationally trained professionals in various fields enter the labour market more quickly in the province.

Here are some key facts about Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals in Ontario:

• Approximately 1,550 people work in this occupation.
• Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 55%
  • Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 36%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 82% compared to 81% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 18% compared to 19% for all occupations
• 65% of physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals work all year, while 35% 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 43 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 22% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 78% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: less than 5% compared to 25% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: less than 5% compared to 8% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 8% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 30% compared to 24% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 59% compared to 13% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Ontario by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Job prospects elsewhere in Canada

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

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