Yukon adds $200K to health care bursaries amid concerns over staffing gaps
Published 6:00 pm Wednesday, April 29, 2026
The Yukon government is increasing bursary funding for students pursuing medical, nursing and other health‑care careers, announcing a $200,000 boost as part of Budget 2026.
The increase brings the total annual support to $289,000, according to a territorial news release.
The Yukon government says the investment will help more students access financial aid in high‑demand fields such as medicine, nursing, speech language pathology, pharmacy, social work, audiology, and dental hygiene, with recipients expected to return and work in the territory after graduating.
Education Minister Scott Kent said the additional funding will be delivered through the Student Financial Assistance Portal, which will accept bursary applications from June until August 31 for the 2026‑27 academic year.
The updated online system replaces a manual process, which the government says is intended to reduce administrative burden, provide guided applications, and align bursaries with other student aid programs already used by students in the territory, the release states.
While the government framed the funding increase as part of a long‑term effort to improve the Yukon’s health‑care workforce, MLAs raised concerns in the Legislative Assembly on April 28 about the territory’s ability to recruit and retain essential workers.
Yukon Party MLA Doris Anderson asked the government how the expanded bursaries would translate into improved staffing levels across the health and social‑services system, noting the territory continues to face shortages in several frontline fields.
Anderson pointed to the government’s own figures showing long‑standing recruitment challenges and asked whether the increased funding would meaningfully address gaps in rural and community‑based care.
Health and Social Services Minister Brad Cathers did not outline specific measures in response, instead reiterating that the bursary expansion is intended to help more Yukon students pursue health careers and contribute to the Yukon after graduating, as stated in the government’s written release.
In the same sitting, Yukon NDP MLA Brent McDonald raised separate concerns about Dawson City’s ability to retain essential workers, warning that the scheduled closure of a private daycare this summer will leave approximately 50 families on a waiting list for childcare.
McDonald said the shortage has already cost the community physicians, nurses, teachers, and other staff who either declined positions or moved away because they could not secure childcare. He pressed Kent for timelines on the new Little Blue Daycare facility, noting the project will add only 16 more spaces than the building it replaces.
Kent told the House he had recently met with the daycare society and that land transfer work is still underway, adding he is confident that this will be done soon, after which construction funding can flow.
McDonald said Dawson requires a coordinated plan to address population growth, housing and childcare shortages to retain essential staff, arguing the pressures go beyond any single program.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com