FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2025
Port Saunders, NL – Today, Premier John Hogan, KC, leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, joined by Liberal Candidate for St. Barbe – L’anse aux Meadows, Krista Lynn Howell, announced new measures to recruit medical professionals to Newfoundland and Labrador.
Since 2023, our Liberal government has already recruited more than 1,300 nurses and more than 160 doctors to help ensure Newfoundlanders and Labradorians get the care they need and that doctors and nurses are supported at work. We will increase our investments in health care to attract even more health care professionals, and retain those already contributing so much.
Our province has one of the most attractive incentive packages in the country for health care professionals – this year we budgeted over $10 million for these initiatives. Some of these include the $150,000 Physician Signing Bonus, signing bonuses of up to $40,000 for nurses, Come Home Year incentives for RNs, LPNs up to $50,000 and $60,000 for NPs. The $75,000 Family Care Team Incentive, and the $150,000 Family Practice Start-Up Program, as well as the New Family Physician Income Guarantee. Each of these programs provides financial incentives for doctors, nurses and other health care professionals to come to or stay in Newfoundland and Labrador, in many cases in exchange for committing to stay in the province for a set amount of time.
These significant investments require a coordinated approach to ensure our province is doing all we can to be an attractive place to live and work. A re-elected Liberal government will establish a dedicated crown corporation tasked with health professional recruitment, retention, and workforce planning.
This organization will work directly with NLHS, provincial and federal government departments, as well as labour organizations and licensing bodies to address vacancies across all health care disciplines. It will focus on local education and training capacities, international recruitment, credential recognition, and immigration support. Wraparound settlement support will also be coordinated – ensuring housing needs, spousal employment assistance and community integration. This strategy will be informed by the health human resources plan, as well as the core staffing review currently underway.
To support our next generation of nurses and provide them certainty, we will cover the costs of tuition associated with all practicum courses for Newfoundland and Labrador nursing students. This will reduce the costs associated with studying for future nurses who sign a two-year return to service agreement. This will apply to those studying for RN, LPN and NP licensure, and we will work with other high-demand health professions to ensure they are supported in their studies as well.
This year, we offered all nursing students a full-time permanent position in the province. We will continue this with a commitment to offer all graduating nurses full-time permanent positions in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Building from the success of pilot projects, a re-elected Liberal Government will also introduce a permanent travel locum program that will benefit all regions of the province. This will help address nursing shortages and improve access to care in rural, remote, and underserved communities.
Our government will also establish an Independent Health Sector Safety Council to provide oversight to protect health care workers and patients. We will also work with labour organizations to ensure safe working hours, and work towards eliminating mandated overtime.
Increased revenue from the new Churchill Falls MOU will enable us to continue to transform and modernize our outdated health care system, improve access to primary health care, and grow our health care workforce.
With real momentum, energy and leadership, the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is embracing our province’s tremendous opportunities to deliver a stronger future for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
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Media Contact:
Ben Murphy
Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
Tel: 709-740-3156 E-mail: [email protected]