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Seven Quebec doctors hired by Vitalité in wake of labour dispute last fall
Published Jan 26, 2026 • Last updated 6 hours ago • 3 minute read
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Vitalité and Horizon health networks are reporting progress with their physician recruitment efforts. PEXELSArticle content
Vitalité Health Network has recruited the largest number of physicians in a single year in recent memory thanks in part to a labour dispute in Quebec last fall.
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Seven Quebec doctors who expressed interest in relocating amid the labour dispute have been hired by Vitalité, according to regional health authority officials.
In total, Vitalité saw a net gain of 41 doctors in 2025, exceeding its annual target by 64 per cent to deliver “unprecedented results,” according to its latest quarterly report.
This figure represents the largest net gain in recent years after 59 new hires and 18 departures are factored into the equation.
And there’s hope the momentum could continue in 2026, with dozens of Quebec physicians expected to visit Vitalité in the next month as they explore the possibility of working in New Brunswick, according to deputy CEO Patrick Parent.
About 200 Quebec physicians had originally expressed interest in Vitalité in the aftermath of the then François Legault government pushing forward on a controversial new physician compensation model in Quebec last fall.
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More than 50 Quebec doctors had applied for New Brunswick licensure in the month of October alone, up from the three to four applications typically received a month from that jurisdiction, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick said at the time.
However, the regulatory body couldn’t say if these applications were tied to the labour dispute as doctors don’t have to disclose their reasons for seeking licensure in their applications.
According to new data from the college, 152 of the 537 licensure applications received in 2025 were from Quebec physicians. So far in January, the college has received five applications from Quebec physicians, down from 10 in December and from 48 in November.
Quebec physicians revolted in the fall after they learned they would be subject to financial penalties if they didn’t meet performance targets under the proposed new deal, but the Quebec government has since retreated on that plan, implemented incentives for meeting targets and reached a deal with its doctors.
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Despite this, Vitalité has 30 exploratory visits from Quebec physicians on the books in the next month.
“We expect another wave of visits, so if we maintain a similar conversion rate, hopefully we get something similar in that next cohort,” Parent said.
Horizon Health Network is also touting its progress on the physician recruitment front.
So far this fiscal year, Horizon is reporting a net gain of 104 physicians, which takes into account 131 new hires and 27 departures. Horizon has reached 66 per cent of its annual recruitment target of 197 new physicians.
“Despite intense national competition for health-care talent, our talent acquisition teams continue to perform exceptionally well, and overall engagement and retention remains positive,” Margaret Melanson, president and CEO of Horizon Health Network, said at a recent board meeting.
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Dr. France Desrosiers, president and CEO of Vitalité Health Network, also credited her recruitment teams’ ongoing efforts for its most recent results, citing changes made to better connect with medical students early in their studies.
“It’s a complete strategy – a different approach with the medical students,” Desrosiers said in an interview. “We have started to contact them in their first year of their studies and we don’t let them go away after that first contact.”
The majority of medical students Vitalité hires study in Quebec as specialist training – outside of family medicine and psychiatry – isn’t offered in New Brunswick, Desrosiers said.
Melanson is hopeful that the province’s new four-year physician services agreement will help with recruitment efforts. The contract, which contains new compensation models to incentivize doctors in the areas of patient attachment, timely access and team-based practice, is set to come into effect in April.
“We are very optimistic because we understand this contract will make New Brunswick very competitive with all the jurisdictions in Canada to attract physicians,” Melanson said.
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