This U.S. doctor is making the move to B.C. — here's why

Katie DeRosa · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 11, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 11

For one Canadian-born doctor, who has been practicing household medicine successful Colorado for the past six years, his adjacent vocation determination is simply a benignant of homecoming.

"It's been benignant of a long-time imagination of excavation to travel backmost to Canada," said Muthanna Yacoub. "For maine it's hockey and being successful the hills that are fundamentally my antidepressant."

The state has been moving to marque it easier for U.S.-trained doctors and nurses to have their credentials recognized successful B.C., a process the Ministry of Health says present takes days alternatively of months. 

After speaking to a few physician recruiters astatine a league successful Vancouver, Yacoub almost signed connected with a session successful Ontario, wherever helium was calved and spent portion of his childhood. But it was the earthy quality of B.C. that enticed him, his woman and their dog, Hudson.  

WATCH | B.C. accelerated tracks process for U.S. wellness attraction workers: 

He volition articulation a aesculapian session owned by the City of Colwood, adjacent Victoria, this fall. 

"He wants to springiness backmost and travel backmost home," said Health Minister Josie Osborne, during a property league successful the clinic connected Friday. 

The session is trying to enlistee out-of-province oregon out-of-country doctors to debar poaching from different parts of B.C.

Demoralized by the U.S. backstage wellness attraction system 

Yacoub had go progressively demoralized with the U.S.'s backstage wellness attraction system, wherever security companies often dictate the benignant of attraction a diligent receives. 

"Some days it truly feels similar you're treating the security institution and not the diligent and beckoning to their demands successful spite of what's successful the patient's champion interest," said the 36-year-old. "And truthful you're having to take betwixt your conscience and conscionable being compliant — and astir of america are benignant of getting sick of it."

WATCH | U.S. doc making the determination to B.C.: 

The biggest catalyst though, was the predetermination of U.S. president Donald Trump and the anti-vaccine presumption of his wellness secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"Are we going to beryllium capable to enactment ethically and dainty patients arsenic we truly ought to, pursuing the science?" Yacoub asked. "Or are we going to have to beryllium forced into compliance? And fixed the administration's heavy-handed nature, we're truly disquieted that it's going to beryllium the latter."

The B.C. authorities is capitalizing connected that sentiment, with a $5 cardinal advertisement run targeting wellness attraction workers successful Washington State, Oregon and California.

WATCH | Ad from B.C. authorities targets U.S. wellness attraction workers

The Colwood clinic's co-medical director, Jesse Pewarchuk, is optimistic B.C.'s strategy to enlistee U.S. doctors and nurses volition carnivore fruit. 

"This is the archetypal of what we anticipation volition beryllium galore recruits," said Pewarchuk, who besides runs Aroga Lifestyle Medicine Clinic successful adjacent View Royal. "The province's strategy to enlistee retired of Washington, Oregon and California — and I would put guardant they should besides beryllium looking astatine Colorado — is truly a changeable of genius."

Pewarchuk said B.C. simply cannot bid capable doctors and nurses to support up with the increasing request of our aging and increasing population. 

"The fig of wellness attraction practitioners successful the U.S. dwarfs Canada. So it is simply a precise affluent crushed to enlistee from."

For Yacoub, who has dual Canadian and U.S. citizenship, the process of moving to Canada is consecutive forward.

However, American-born doctors would person to navigate Canada's migration system, adding another imaginable roadblock.

LISTEN | Texas caregiver wants to determination to Nanaimo 

This year, the national authorities slashed the fig of skilled workers B.C. tin bring successful done the provincial nominee program, from 8,000 to 4,000. 

Osborne says that's an contented the state has raised with Ottawa. 

"It has been a situation that the provincial nominee program — the lone mode that British Columbia has immoderate power implicit who is capable to travel successful and enactment successful our province — has had a alteration successful its capacity."

The state plans to reserve a 4th of those spaces for wellness attraction workers.

As for questions astir a wage spread betwixt Canada and the U.S., Yacoub says the wage being offered by the Colwood Clinic is comparable to what helium was making successful Colorado. He says the pension was besides a large draw. 

But the last determination came down to values and prime of life. 

"I deliberation 1 of the strongest things really benignant of pulled america to the country was the people."