Each of the internationally educated health professionals that we interviewed had a fascinating story that began with a discussion about how and why they decided to leave their country of origin and/or training and come to Canada. The findings are organized in terms of the traditional 'push' and 'pull' factors evident in much of the literature, but as stated in the introduction, we fully appreciate that these are difficult to tease apart and further,there are broader contextual factors at play both in the decision to migrate in the first place, and the country of intended destination. Equally, some of our participants felt uncomfortable at times with this distinction, insisting instead that they took a more holistic view in making their decision to come to Canada.

Figures 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 outline the regions of birth of our participants by profession. The majority of our IMG respondents came from Eastern Europe followed by the Middle East and South America, East Asia and Western Europe in equal proportions. The three most common countries of birth for our IEN participants were Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the U.K. Most of the ITMs we interviewed were born in Canada – a fact which largely reflects of the relative lack of Canadian educational opportunities – followed by Western Africa and Western Europe and then the U.K. close behind.

Figure 1.1: Number of IMGs by Region of Birth

Figure 1.2: Number of IENs by Region of Birth

Figure 1.3: Number of ITMs by Region of Birth