Immigration Minister Lena Diab asserts that new immigrants, many of whom are doctors, do not burden the healthcare system. This year, the Cabinet's Immigration Levels Plan will allow 1,068,650 foreigners to enter Canada on permanent and temporary permits.

Diab testified yesterday at the Commons health committee, which is probing the impact of federal immigration policy on healthcare, claiming without providing figures that "Many who are arriving are doctors."

Conservative MP Dan Mazier asked Immigration Minister Diab if the department tracks how many immigrant doctors become licensed in Canada. She replied: “No, I don’t believe that is a department function.”

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When asked if the immigration department tracks how many doctors drive taxis instead of working in hospitals, Diab declined to comment.

BREAKING

Mark Carney’s Immigration Minister doesn’t consider healthcare capacity in her immigration plan.

When asked how many more people our healthcare system can support, she said it wasn't “a fair question.”

Not a fair question?

6.5 million Canadians don’t have a doctor. pic.twitter.com/lAk4tKWxlu

— Dan Mazier (@DanMazierMP) November 18, 2025

Mazier, who sponsored the committee motion that prompted hearings, questioned the effect of new immigration on patient wait times in Canada, as reported by Blacklock’s.

Pressed by the Conservative MP on responsibility for matching immigration levels with healthcare capacity, Minister Diab stated her role is to "manage our immigration system" and that immigration, being a "shared provincial-territorial jurisdiction," requires collaboration with those governments.

“Do you consider Canada’s existing health care capacity before setting federal immigration levels?” Mazier asked. “We have extensive consultations that happen,” replied Diab. “Everything is considered.”

Asked how many more patients the healthcare system could handle based on her department's analysis, Diab responded, "Oh, that’s not a fair question for immigration."

Mazier challenged, "But Minister, you just said you do consider it, so you must do some analysis." Diab responded, "We have extensive yearly consultations [with all stakeholders] when we set our target levels for permanent and temporary residency."

New immigrants are no strain on health care and “many who are arriving are doctors,” says @CitImmCanada Minister @LenaMetlegeDiab.
Immigration Levels Plan will let 1,068,650 foreigners into Canada this year on permanent and temporary permits. https://t.co/eukeYSbVlr@DanMazierMP… pic.twitter.com/2cGeV5PHtv

— Holly Doan (@hollyanndoan) November 19, 2025

When asked how many more patients her department could serve, Diab avoided the question. Instead, she emphasized that consultations focused on how the department could help provinces and territories bring in more healthcare workers.

SecondStreet figures show over 3.2 million Canadians are waiting for healthcare: 1.5 million for diagnostics, one million for specialist appointments, and over 600,000 for surgery. The true total is likely closer to 5.1 million, as P.E.I. and Yukon reported no data, and other provinces provided incomplete information.

Mazier then questioned if access to care worsens when the population outgrows the number of family doctors, to which Diab responded, "I think it depends on people's age and health and so on."

Despite Canada needing an estimated 28,000 registered nurses, a September 25 report Immigrant Nurses In Canada: Alignment Between Intentions And Employment Outcomes shows that the immigration department admitted many immigrant healthcare workers, yet only 63 percent of foreign nurses secured hospital positions in Canada.

Diab deflected when MP Mazier asked how many Canadians lacked a family doctor, calling it "provincial" despite the health department's 5.7 million estimate. She also claimed many newcomers are healthcare providers who will treat Canadians, responding to a question about immediate doctor access for arrivals.

“Are you aware Canada’s population is growing faster than the supply of family doctors?” asked Mazier. “Well, we have 41 million plus in population,” replied Diab. “I am pretty sure we don’t have 41 million doctors.”