registered nurse canada

Nurse Salary in Canada
Registered Nurse Salaries for Nursing Jobs in Canada

Registered nurse salary information for each of the provinces in Canada shows that registered nurse salaries have not achieved parity across the country.

Registered nurse salaries are usually expressed in dollars per hour and across the country the number of hours for full time work varies.


The registered nurse salary information listed here was taken from the latest contract comparison of pay scale compiled by Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.

The data is current up to April 1 2010 and shows that registered nurse salaries in Quebec and Newfoundland/Labrador have not kept up with the other provinces.

Labor union contracts express salary in dollars per hour. Annual salary can be calculated using either the number of hours per week or the number of hours per year as defined in collective agreement language.

It should also be noted that these wages are specifically for the pay scale of nursing labor unions and are for positions that are classified as a general duty registered nurse at the basic level of responsibility.

Here are the registered nurse salaries paid to nurses who provide patient care at the bedside.

Province bottom of pay scale top of pay scale # of steps on pay scale hrs per week hrs per year
British Columbia
$29.89
$39.24
9
36
1879.00
Alberta
$32.42
$42.45
9
36.81
1920.75
Saskatchewan
$32.62
$42.34
6
40
1948.80
Manitoba
$31.02
$36.57
6
38.75
2015
Ontario
$29.36
$41.70
9
37.5
1950
Quebec
$21.41
$31.89
12
 Not
available
1891
New Brunswick
$28.99
$34.60
6
37.5
1958
Nova Scotia
$29.24
$34.17
6
37.5
1950
Prince Edward Island
$27.18
$33.12
6
37.5
1950
Newfoundland and Labrador
$28.44
$35.22
6
37.5
1950


maple leaf Compare a Registered Nurse salary with the salary for a Licensed Practical Nurse.

How will your registered nurse salary be determined?

Links to labour unions representing nurses in Canada

The nine step salary payscale for Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario was achieved through bargaining efforts in the last few rounds of negotiations.

The addition of higher steps on the payscale was an attempt to provide incentive for older more experienced nurses to stay in the workforce and delay retirement.

Some nursing labor unions have been able to negotiate "long service recognition" rates for nurses who continue to work in the Canadian helath care system with long service records. These incentives may provide for as much as 2% added to the base pay after 20 years of service.

In Nova Scotia, for example, after 25 years of service 3% is added to the base pay rate which would increase the top level annual registered nurse salary in that province by $1990.90.

Current Nursing Shortage

Some provincial health authorities have decreased the number of nursing positions because of funding shortfalls. These are some of the political nuances of nursing in Canada.

The various career sections on health authority websites still show a wide variety of positions, but many of them are not entry level.

This is most likely a temporary situation and all predictions still forcast a nursing shortage for the future.

I will be monitoring this situation over the longer term.

A Canadian visitor says:

Bev:

I have read the pages on your site, and just thought you should know, that so far your website has been the most valuable information tool I have found. It is really hard to find the right information. I have just enrolled in a diploma program, RPN, and then I would like to follow through and get my degree.

Thank you again for your time, and for the great site, I am certainly going to pass it along.

Stephanie


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Copyright© 2009
This website is a private commercial enterprise and is owned and operated by Beverly Hansen OMalley.

It is not in any way affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by the government of Canada or any nursing regulatory organization in Canada.

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