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Canada's most respected profession: Despite shortage, nurses, doctors are high on the list

Canada's most respected profession: Despite shortage, nurses, doctors are high on the list

Heroism and selflessness go a long way in Canada, especially if that applies to your profession.

Paramedics, firefighters and nurses top the list of the jobs most respected by Canadians, according to a recently published survey by Maru Public Opinion.

Farmers, medical doctors and paramedics round out the top five occupations on the list.

Most respected professions in Canada:

  • Paramedics

  • Firefighters

  • Nurses

  • Farmers

  • Medical Doctors

  • Pharmacists

  • Members of our Armed Forces

  • Scientists

  • Airline Pilots

  • Grocery Store Owners/ Clerks

Sylvain Brousseau, with the Nursing Association of Canada, says the pandemic has highlighted just how important the nursing profession is now more than ever.

“Nurses were there to answer the call,” he tells Yahoo Canada News. “They’re not just in hospitals. They’re in health home care services, they’re vaccinating Canadians in clinics, they’re in long-term care homes. Nurses are very engaged.”

He adds that nurses also are responsible for teaching and mentoring students, to ensure they’re prepared to face the realities of the profession and what goes on in nursing wards.

“We must promote what nurses do,” he says. “Sometimes when we’re giving care, we’re invisible, and I think the pandemic amplified the role of what nurses do each day for the Canadian population.”

Brousseau says the role of nurses and other medical practitioners haven’t this amplified since WWII.

While nursing is a position that garners a lot of respect, it’s also one that’s challenging to staff and retain. Brousseau points out that nursing shortages are a reality here in Canada as recruitment and retention can be incredibly difficult.

According to data from Statistics Canada, there were 22,955 job vacancies in health care and the social care system in 2021, which was more than double the numbers from 2019. There’s also been a 117 per cent increase in vacancies in registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in the last two years.

Of the 29 occupations included on the list, union leaders, elected Members of Parliament, advertising practitioners, car salespeople and owners of social media platforms ranked at the bottom.

Least respected professions in Canada:

  • Union Leaders

  • Elected Members of Parliament

  • Advertising Practitioners

  • Car Salespeople

  • Owners of Social Media Platforms

The survey was conducted in four waves of more than 1500 samples among randomly selected Canadians who are members of Maru/Blue‘s Maru Voice Canada Online panel.