The health sector in Canada is very welcoming to Filipino migrants, as demonstrated by Saskatchewan’s 2022 commitment to hire hundreds of health workers from the Philippines and the $1 billion contract to supply Ontario hospitals with employees won by a Filipino agency.
With a reputation for excellence in the science and health sectors and its University Health Network: Toronto General Hospital was recently rated as the fourth best hospital in the world; Toronto is a particularly smart choice for healthcare professionals.
Living in Toronto
Toronto is a welcoming city for immigrants, with around half of its population born abroad.
It’s certainly a good choice if you want to retain a sense of community with fellow Filipinos. 62% of all Filipinos in Canada live in the greater Toronto area, and as of 2021, Filipino people make up 6% of Toronto’s population.
With a reputation as an exciting, clean, and safe place to live, Toronto is a regular feature on ‘best city’ lists. In 2022, it ranked eight on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index, which scores cities based on their healthcare, culture and environment, infrastructure, education and stability.
It mixes vibrant city culture with plenty of opportunities to get back to nature, including 50 kilometers of waterfront including beaches and beautiful lakes. While its winters can certainly get very cold, it enjoys four defined seasons, with quite hot summers, offering a variety of natural beauty across the year.
Working in Toronto – Healthcare
Canadian healthcare is considered among the best in the world. In 2021, Canada ranked fourth for per capita spending on health expenditures among OECD healthcare systems.
In 2022, three Canadian hospitals were listed as among the 30 best in the world, all of them in Toronto. The city was also rated as Canada’s ‘best hospital city’, and the 15th best in the world in 2019.
Overall, Toronto offers a promising outlook for workers – the average salary is $62,050, 14% higher than the average for Canada overall, and the city has Canada’s largest workforce and the third largest in North America.
The Best Hospitals in Canada
University Health Network: Toronto General Hospital
#4 on the Newsweek World’s Best Hospitals 2022 list
Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a 417-bed major teaching hospital and the University Health Network (UHN)’s flagship campus. TGH is one of the oldest hospitals in Toronto, dating back to 1819 and opening to patients in 1829.
The hospital is well-known for its organ transplant program. It has the world’s largest lung transplant program and was home to the first ever triple organ transplant in 2015. It also pioneered the innovative Toronto Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion System for high-risk donor lungs, which assesses, treats, and improves donated lungs to make them considerably fitter for transplant.
In addition to organ transplants, TGH is particularly well-known for cardiac care and treating complex patient needs.
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
#25 on the Newsweek World’s Best Hospitals 2022 list
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC), or Sunnybrook as it’s often referred to, is Canada’s largest trauma center as well as a teaching hospital, affiliated with the University of Toronto. It has over 1,000 beds, and its services include brain sciences, musculoskeletal care, cardiac care and a women and babies program.
Sunnybrook is partnered with Veterans Affairs Canada, and it has Canada’s largest veterans’ care facility where it provides care for around 500 Korean War and World War II veterans.
Sunnybrook employs around 10,000 people, including more than 200 scientists, and cares for 1.3 million patients every year.
Mount Sinai Hospital
#27 on the Newsweek World’s Best Hospitals 2022 list
Mount Sinai Hospital (MSH) is part of the Sinai Health System for Toronto, which employs over 6,000 people. Mount Sinai is a 442-bed hospital that opened in 1953 with Toronto’s only outpatient department offering diabetes education and prenatal instruction in four languages.
More recently, in 2015, it was Canada’s first hospital to achieve Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence and patient care.
Sinai Health was rated among Greater Toronto’s Top 100 Employers for 2023. It’s particularly praised for its commitment to diversity, leading to it also being rated as one of Canada’s ‘best diversity employers’ for 2022. It also shows a strong commitment to employee wellness, with a $1,000, one-year self-care spending account, a comprehensive recognition system, and flexible working options.
North York General Hospital
#64 on the Newsweek World’s Best Hospitals 2022 list
North York General Hospital (NYGH) is a teaching hospital that provides ambulatory, acute care, and long-term services. It’s set across multiple sites and primarily serves the North York district.
Its leading General Site is located in north central Toronto. It offers the Cancer Program, a 24-hour full-service emergency service, inpatient acute care services, family and community medicine, pediatric and maternal care, mental health services, diagnostic imaging, and genetics testing.
North York General employs 5,000 staff, including over 900 volunteers.
If You Need to Send Money to the Philippines from Canada
If you are considering moving to Canada and working in Toronto, we hope this information serves as a good starting point for your research.
Many immigrant workers choose to send a portion of their wages back home to support a family or loved ones. If that’s you, Western Union makes it quick and easy to transfer money from Canada to the Philippines – or wherever you need it. There are many different options to reliably send money, any time and anywhere, including a dedicated mobile app and web.
