Nurse Jobs in Toronto 2026: Pay, Immigration Routes and How to Apply

Toronto’s hospitals are among the largest employers in Canada, and Ontario’s nursing demand stays strong even when other sectors cool. If you are a nurse targeting Toronto in 2026, here is the grounded picture: pay, routes, and application advice that actually fits Ontario.

Pay benchmark from official data

Canada’s Job Bank, updated 19 November 2025, reports a national median wage of $43.27 per hour for registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses, with Ontario’s median at $42.00 per hour and Alberta’s at $47.50. Toronto pay varies by setting — hospital, community and long-term care differ — so use the Ontario figure as your anchor and compare individual offers against it. Our USA and Canada salary hub has the full Job Bank table, including the Ontario and Alberta split.

Immigration routes that fit nurses

Express Entry runs category-based draws, and healthcare is one of the categories, alongside STEM, trades, transport, education and French-language proficiency. A category draw can invite candidates with lower scores than a general draw, but it does not guarantee an invitation. Our Canada Express Entry guide explains the categories in detail. Separately, Ontario’s own provincial nominee streams sometimes target health occupations — check the current Ontario programme pages rather than relying on an old article, because stream criteria change.

Licensing and applying

You need registration with Ontario’s nursing regulator to practise in the province, so start that process early — it takes time, especially for internationally educated nurses. Apply directly through hospital career pages as well as job boards, tailor your resume to the posting, and keep a record of every application and closing date. If you are applying from abroad, state your work-authorisation status honestly and early.