Job prospects Licensed Practical Nurse (L.P.N.) in Québec

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.)" in Québec or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Québec

The recent trends from the past 3 years were updated on July 25, 2025. The job outlooks over the next 3 years were updated on December 10, 2025.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be Moderate for licensed practical nurses (NOC 32101) in Quebec for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

The demand for this occupation is mainly due to population growth and aging, as well as government health priorities.

Every year, the government puts targeted measures in place to improve health care services and make them more accessible to the public. Improvements to home care and the opening of seniors' homes are stimulating hiring in this occupational group.

Furthermore, health care facilities must gradually reduce their reliance on staff from private placement agencies, which could create other employment opportunities for members of this occupation.

To practice this profession in Quebec, you must have a licence from the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers auxiliaires du Québec (OIIAQ). To obtain this licence, you must have a diploma of vocational studies in health, assistance and nursing or recognized equivalency and pass the OIIAQ's professional exam.

Here are some key facts about licensed practical nurses in Quebec:

• Approximately 22,450 people work in this occupation.
• Licensed practical nurses mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 60%
  • Nursing and residential care facilities (NAICS 623): 23%
  • Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 10%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 82% compared to 82% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 18% compared to 18% for all occupations
• 73% of licensed practical nurses work all year, while 27% work only part of the year, compared to 62% and 38% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 46 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• Less than 5% of licensed practical nurses are self-employed compared to an average of 12% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 11% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 89% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 12% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: less than 5% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 68% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 22% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: less than 5% compared to 17% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 11% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Québec by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

Learn more