Job prospects Nurse Practitioner in British Columbia

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

Job opportunities in British Columbia

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 Good for nurse practitioners (NOC 31302) in British Columbia 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.

In September 2025, the Government of British Columbia announced 65 new nurse practitioner seats at the University of British Columbia, the University of Northern British Columbia and the University of Victoria. 

In 2025, new medical facilities and urgent care clinics have opened up in 2025 in communities such as Williams Lake, Quesnel, Dawson Creek, and Langley; all of these facilities are looking to hire nurse practitioners. 

Labour shortages continue to affect the delivery of health care services in various parts of the province, especially in northern and rural areas. 

Demand for this occupation is expected to increase, as the provincial population continues to age; compared to 2020, there were 18.8% more people aged 65+ in the province in 2025. 

Here are some key facts about nurse practitioners in British Columbia:

• Approximately 650 people worked in this occupation in May 2021.
• Nurse practitioners mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 67%
  • Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 28%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 87% compared to 78% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 13% compared to 22% for all occupations
• 70% of nurse practitioners work all year, while 30% 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 44 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 19% of nurse practitioners are self-employed compared to an average of 17% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 6% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 94% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: n/a
  • high school diploma or equivalent: less than 5% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: n/a
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: less than 5% compared to 17% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: n/a
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 93% compared to 12% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in British Columbia by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

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