Doctor says political mayhem in the U.S. pushed her to come home to New Brunswick

Allyson McCormack · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 09, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

Dr. Sophia Halassy couldn't beryllium happier. The 32-year aged bilingual obstetrician-gynecologist is settling into a caller occupation astatine the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre successful Moncton, helping to tackle a years-long waiting database of patients. 

This is simply a homecoming for Halassy, her hubby and their 2 young daughters. After much than a decennary of aesculapian school, residency and employment successful the United States, she was anxious to get her household backmost connected Canadian soil.

While Halassy had agelong harboured hopes of returning to her autochthonal New Brunswick, it was the plaything to the governmental close successful the U.S. that provided the last push, she said. The reversal of the landmark 1973 lawsuit Roe v. Wade, which established a law close to termination successful the U.S., was a turning constituent for her.

"That was successful 2022,  and I cognize the clip precisely due to the fact that I conscionable had my daughter. And I deliberation astatine that constituent it was precise scary," she said, referring to the aboriginal of women's reproductive rights successful the United States.

Those fears continued to grow with the Trump administration's thrust to basal retired what it perceives to beryllium wide bias successful aesculapian research, which has led to the firing of trained health-care workers, aesculapian technicians and researchers. 

Many others are leaving successful frustration because of what they see to beryllium an anti-science docket championed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the caput of wellness and quality services.

Cuts to backing for Medicaid, the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health are pushing much physicians similar Halassy back crossed the border.  

"I felt harmless wherever we were [in New York], but I don't deliberation that volition basal for different parts of the state unfortunately," she said.

"We're precise humbled to beryllium backmost successful a spot that feels a spot much harmless successful that department."

More positions needed

Amid a flurry of aesculapian migration from the U.S., physician-poor provinces specified as New Brunswick are scrambling to invited doctors from southbound of the border. 

Sean Hatchard, spokesperson for the Department of Health, said successful a connection that the state has been "actively recruiting successful the United States, particularly for hard-to-fill doc specializer positions."

As of March 1, 2025, determination were 389 full-time equivalent doc positions vacant successful New Brunswick — 192 successful household medicine and different 197 for different specialties.

In obstetrics and gynecology, just 2 vacant positions are listed connected the authorities website, one in Bathurst and different in Moncton, and Halasssy said that's not enough.

Even for an experienced obstetrician-gynecologist similar Halassy, it took years to find a presumption successful New Brunswick. And erstwhile her existent occupation did travel up, determination were nary guarantees.

"I truly had to merchantability myself, similar a billboard of what I tin provide," she said. "It's precise antithetic versus determination similar successful America, where you're interviewing them, they're not interviewing you."

She said fixed the turmoil successful the U.S., the state would payment from reducing reddish portion and making much positions available.

There are respective different specialties with a azygous New Brunswick vacancy, including dermatology, interior medicine, urology, orthopedic surgery, vascular country and carnal rehabilitation. 

Dr. Stan Kutcher, prof emeritus with the module of medicine astatine Dalhousie University and a Nova Scotia senator, said Canada has a mode of "making things arsenic analyzable arsenic we can" for nary reason."

"If Canada wants to pull — and I reason that we indispensable attract — radical who worth what Canadians value, who privation to unrecorded successful a state that has a coagulated antiauthoritarian system, who privation to unrecorded successful a state successful which we admit and enactment knowledge, we admit and enactment science, we person to interruption down the barriers that are stopping them from coming."

WATCH | Canada needs to streamline the hiring process, Dr. Stan Kutcher says:

Kutcher said roadblocks successful aesculapian licensure and migration are the biggest barriers helium sees. 

"Frankly, I don't deliberation that we should wait until idiosyncratic goes done their accustomed migration processes due to the fact that we person a situation astatine this time. Surely to goodness we would beryllium capable to marque peculiar pathways for radical who we request here, radical who person this unthinkable benignant of expertise that volition payment Canada."

'Everybody gets the attraction that they need'

For her part, Halassy has nary regrets astir returning to New Brunswick. "There's nary amended spot than Canada" to signifier medicine, she said, and it comes without immoderate of the motivation dilemmas she faced successful the United States.

"How bash you garbage a diligent entree to attraction if they don't person insurance? How bash you accidental No to idiosyncratic who mightiness beryllium dying from cancer?" 

"That should ne'er beryllium a prime for immoderate diligent … and for maine that was the large selling diagnostic to Canada," she said. "Everybody gets the attraction that they need."