Author: Neeru Gupta, Pablo Miah, Sean Waite
Year: 2026
Category:
Social Policy,
Health Publications
Across Canada, nurses come from many different backgrounds, identities, and communities. Understanding who is represented in the nursing workforce and how earnings compare across groups helps support discussions about equity and inclusion in healthcare. This study uses information from the 2021 Canadian Population Census, the first large-scale data source to include information on gender-diverse identities, alongside variables related to ethnic diversity and professional labour.
The research looks at the nursing workforce ages 20-64 years and compares their demographic characteristics with the broader Canadian population it is intended to serve. The study offers new evidence that transgender women are over‑represented in nursing while transgender men and non-binary persons are under‑represented. It also examines earnings differences as an indicator of employment equity and finds that nurses with Black, Filipino, South Asian and several other ethnic minority origins earn less on average, even when working in comparable roles.
These results show that addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion within nursing is complex and that experiences vary across communities. The findings support the importance of detailed data and ongoing conversations about social barriers to health workforce recruitment and retention to meet the complex healthcare needs of the Canadian population.
