Job prospects Nurse Practitioner in Alberta

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "nurse practitioner" in Alberta or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Alberta

The recent trends from the past 3 years were updated on July 25, 2025. The job outlooks over the next 3 years were updated on December 10, 2025.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be Very good for nurse practitioners (NOC 31302) in Alberta for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

• Alberta's population and its proportion of residents aged 65+ are predicted to increase over the next decade, contributing to demand for this occupation.
• As the province faces ongoing shortages of general practitioners, nurse practitioners are increasingly being integrated in an expanding role in addressing primary care gaps, especially in rural and underserved communities.
• Government initiatives such as the Modernizing Alberta's Primary Health Care System (MAPS) plan support this shift by promoting team-based care and expanding the scope of practice for nurse practitioners. Their ability to provide comprehensive assessments, diagnostics, and treatment makes them vital contributors to the healthcare system's capacity.

Here are some key facts about nurse practitioners in Alberta:

• Approximately 600 people worked in this occupation in May 2021.
• Nurse practitioners mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 68%
  • Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 21%
  • Nursing and residential care facilities (NAICS 623): 7%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 83% compared to 80% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 17% compared to 20% for all occupations
• 79% of nurse practitioners work all year, while 21% work only part of the year, compared to 61% and 39% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 47 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 5% of nurse practitioners are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 11% compared to 53% for all occupations
  • Women: 89% compared to 47% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: n/a
  • high school diploma or equivalent: n/a
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: n/a
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: less than 5% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: less than 5% compared to 21% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 93% compared to 9% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Alberta by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

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