There are 350 more practicing physicians in Quebec than a year ago. However, the number of physicians has decreased in 3 of the province’s 17 regions, according to the medical workforce report.
As of March 31, 2026, there were 26,775 physicians registered with the Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ).
Related:
Of this number, 23,727 were active members and 23,288 practiced in Quebec.
The CMQ’s annual report shows that in just over a year, 14 more doctors have chosen to work abroad. The number was 425 as of December 31, 2024, compared to 439 as of March 31, 2026.
The total number of physicians registered with the CMQ is increasing; it was 26,511 in 2025, 26,106 in 2024, 25,677 in 2023 and 25,248 in 2022.
The number of registered and active physicians is also increasing; it was 23,288 in 2026, compared to 22,938 in 2025.
A doctor is considered “inactive” when he or she is retired or if, for example, he or she is on parental leave, sabbatical, sick leave or mentoring.
In 2026, 3048 registered doctors were inactive, or 11.4 per cent, a proportion similar to the previous report which stated 11.9 per cent of registered doctors were inactive.
Upward trend everywhere except in three regions
The number of active physicians has decreased in three regions of Quebec over the past year.
In Abitibi-Témiscamingue, there are seven fewer doctors than a year ago. The Lower St. Lawrence region has lost five, and the Gaspé Peninsula-Magdalen Islands region now has three fewer doctors to care for its population.
The number of doctors practicing in Quebec increased in all 14 other regions. The largest increase, unsurprisingly, was in Montreal, with 145 new doctors for a total of 7,988.
The National Capital Region has 66 new doctors, followed by Montérégie with 42 and the Laurentians with 35.
The regions of Laval, Lanaudière, Chaudière-Appalaches, Nord-du-Québec, Outaouais, Estrie, Mauricie and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean saw the arrival of between 1 and 23 new doctors in the last year.
More and more women
The CMQ report shows that 56 per cent of doctors practicing in Quebec are women and this percentage is set to increase, as 67 per cent of medical students are women.
The average age in the profession is 48 years old.
The oldest active doctor will be 94 years old in the coming weeks and the youngest is 25.
Family doctors represent 46.7 per cent of the members of the profession.
The College of Physicians of Quebec did not intend to comment on this data, but, in an email exchange with The Canadian Press, the order briefly reacted to the report.
“I am pleased to note that we have 350 more practicing physicians in Quebec since last year. More and more internationally trained physicians are even joining the College: numbering 2504, they now represent 10 per cent of all physician members registered with the order,” said Dr. Mauril Gaudreault, President of the CMQ.
The report shows that 2504 of the 23,288 doctors practicing in Quebec are international medical graduates.
Of the active physicians practicing in Quebec, 19,900 obtained their degree in Quebec (85.4 per cent) and 798 in another Canadian province (3.4 per cent).
Of the active physicians, 86 graduated from the United States (0.4 per cent).
The College of Physicians of Quebec does not publish data on the number of physicians who practice privately.
According to statistics from the Quebec Health Insurance Board, in 2026 there were 828 doctors practicing privately full-time, a little less than in 2025 (835), but more than in 2024 (733), than in 2023 (634) and than in 2022 (522).
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
