Why Red Deer is seeing success in recruiting new doctors

Medical associations are calling for more uniform growth across the province.

Dr. Adeola Adeyemo is a Red Deer physician. Nadeer Hashmi/CBC

Nadeer Hashmi, CBC News Oct 18, 2025

Alberta’s push to recruit more doctors is beginning to pay off in regional centres like Red Deer, which is seeing an uptick in family doctors taking new patients.

More than 15 physicians are currently accepting new patients in the community, according to Alberta’s Primary Care Network (PCN), which local doctors say is a significant improvement.

“It was almost impossible to get a new doctor,” said Dr. Peter Bouch, a Red Deer physician for 35 years.

Bouch, who is originally from South Africa, recalls that before the recent recruitment push, only a handful of doctors were taking new patients.

That has changed significantly over the past year, he said, as internationally trained physicians, many from England and several African countries, have opened practices.

Dr. Adeola Adeyemo is one of them. He said when he was looking to start his medical practice in Canada, he wanted a city that was neither too big nor too remote. He found Red Deer to be an ideal, close-knit place for his family.

With 14 years of experience and education in Nigeria, Adeyemo said he began practising late last year at The Branch Medical Clinic, and hopes to stay long term.

“For now, I don’t think I have a doubt in my mind that I want to go somewhere else,” Adeyemo said.

Bouch credits the province’s targeted recruitment and Red Deer’s strong team-based primary care model for the turnaround.

Dr. Peter Bouch has been a Red Deer physician for 35 years. He says the most of the new physicians that have opened up practices are internationally trained. Nadeer Hashmi/CBC

In an email, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said the increase in physicians “reflects a focused effort to increase access to physicians in Red Deer and across the province.”

This included expanding training and residency positions, improved registration for internationally trained doctors and collaboration with local leaders to encourage long-term practice.

Despite national shortages, the spokesperson said Alberta’s overall physician numbers continue to rise.

“As of June 30, 12,327 physicians were practising in Alberta — an increase of 571 from the same period in 2024, the largest single-year gain on record. Most of this growth has come from family physicians seen across all zones.” the ministry said.

Still, Bouch said retention remains a challenge as seen in other centres.

“Once you attract physicians, you’ve got to retain them by assisting them in their general practice,” he said, noting Lethbridge at one point also saw a wave of new doctors that later thinned out. The PCN website currently lists only one physician in a smaller town near Lethbridge accepting new patients.

Dr. Rithesh Ram, a rural generalist in Drumheller and president of the Alberta Medical Association’s section of rural medicine, said while targeted recruitment has helped regional centres, smaller communities remain in poor shape.

“Red Deer is getting some people, Lethbridge got some people, but the rural remote areas still don’t have that same recruitment capability because we’re down physicians everywhere,” Ram said.

Recruitment

Dr. Brian Wirzba, an internal medicine specialist in Edmonton and president of the Alberta Medical Association, said Red Deer’s improvement could signal a positive trend.

“It’s great that this recruitment is occurring in pockets, but I’d like to see that more broadly across the province.” Wirzba said.

A new study found while the number of family physicians has kept pace with population growth, patient complexity has surged. Nadeer Hashmi/CBC

He added the new government payment model introduced this spring was a lifesaver for many family physicians who were considering retirement or leaving. The model compensates previously unpaid tasks such as paperwork and form completion.

“Having that recognized and compensated is a big change… something we advocated for a long time,” he said.

With national shortages, Wirzba believes the plan gives Alberta a competitive advantage in attracting doctors.

More than just number of doctors

But a new University of Calgary study suggests doctor shortages are about more than just recruitment or headcounts.

Dr. Braden Manns, senior associate dean of health research at the Cumming School of Medicine who headed the research, said while the number of family physicians has kept pace with population growth, patient complexity has surged.

“Twenty years ago I saw people with diabetes. Now I see people with diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and depression,” Manns said, “the need for family doctor services is going up.”

Manns said expanding Primary Care Networks (PCNs) is key, allowing nurses and other professionals to take on more services so doctors can focus on complex cases.

While 75 per cent of Albertans already receive care through PCNs, he said funding for team-based care remains limited, with only four allied health professionals for every ten family doctors.

“It’s not just that we don’t have enough family doctors, it’s also the way that we use a family doctor,” Manns said.

Nadeer Hashmi, Reporter

Nadeer Hashmi is a reporter for CBC News in Red Deer, Alta. He was formerly a reporter in Yellowknife.

Source CBC News