https://www.cna-aiic.ca/fr/blogs/ic-contenu/2025/10/17/progres-vers-une-meilleure-mobilite
October 17, 2025 (Calgary, Alberta) – The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) welcomes the productive discussions held this week between federal, provincial, and territorial (FPT) Ministers of Health, which advanced key solutions to strengthen Canada’s health system, including renewed momentum to harmonize nursing regulation, standardize nursing workforce data, and enhance workforce mobility across jurisdictions.
Throughout the week, CNA’s delegation met with the Ministers to advance the call for a pan-Canadian framework that harmonizes nursing regulation, a practical, standardized approach that would make it easier for nurses to move between provinces and territories, improve consistency of regulatory processes, and help deploy the workforce where it is most needed.
“Nurses are central to these solutions taking hold,” said Dr. Kimberly LeBlanc, President of CNA. “We were encouraged to see broad agreement among the Ministers that reducing interjurisdictional barriers and streamlining nursing licensure and foreign credential recognition is critical to improving access to care, particularly in rural, remote, and Northern communities.”
“The communiqué’s reference to mutual licence-recognition reflects the very reforms CNA has championed,” said Dr. Valerie Grdisa, CEO of CNA. “Harmonizing nursing regulation is a foundational step toward strengthening our health system. By improving labour mobility and enabling nurses to work to their full legislated scope of practice, we can improve access to care, achieve efficiencies, and deliver better health outcomes for Canadians.”
CNA’s priorities align with its Policy Roadmap for 2025 and Beyond, which outlines evidence-informed actions to build a more resilient and equitable health system. Key recommendations include:
- Advancing a pan-Canadian framework for harmonizing nursing regulation, to reduce barriers, improve consistency, and increase labour mobility across provinces and territories.
- Optimizing the nursing workforce, enabling all categories of nurses to contribute to the full extent of their skills, knowledge, and expertise across the entire continuum of care.
- Supporting sustainable workforce planning and retention strategies, to ensure nursing workforce supply data is standardized, and nurses have the supports required to provide high-quality, patient-centred care.
- Supporting ethical international recruitment practices and streamlining credential recognition processes for internationally educated nurses.
CNA remains committed to working with governments, regulators, and nursing partners to turn this week’s promising dialogue into tangible progress for Canada’s nurses and the people they serve.
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About the Canadian Nurses Association
CNA is the national and global professional voice of Canadian nursing. Our mission is to advance the nursing profession to improve health outcomes in Canada’s publicly funded, not-for-profit health system. CNA is the only national association that speaks for all nurses in all sectors and practice settings across all 13 provinces and territories. We represent unionized and non-unionized nurses, retired nurses, nursing students, and all categories of nurses (licensed and registered practical nurses, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and registered psychiatric nurses).
For more information, please contact:
Amber Morley
Media and Communications Coordinator
Cell: 613-282-7859
Email: amorley@cna-aiic.ca
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