RESEARCH · BURNOUT
93% of Canadian nurses report burnout symptoms.
Burnout is the most-measured indicator of the Canadian nursing crisis. The 2024 CFNU national survey of 5,595 nurses found that 93% report at least one burnout symptom, and a 2025 follow-up found 1 in 3 meet the clinical threshold for both anxiety and burnout. The figures below come from CFNU, peer-reviewed studies, and Statistics Canada — never from CareVoice's own ledger.
The figures
BACKGROUND — CFNU 2024 · n=5,595
93%
of Canadian nurses report symptoms of burnout
BACKGROUND — CFNU 2025 · n=4,736
1 in 3
Canadian nurses meet the clinical threshold for both anxiety and burnout
BACKGROUND — Stelnicki et al. 2020 · n=7,358
29.3%
screened positive for clinical burnout on the MBI — even before the pandemic
BACKGROUND — JEN 2024
53%
of Canadian emergency-department nurses score in the high-burnout zone
How to access mental-health support if you're a nurse
- Check your employee assistance program (EAP). Most hospital and CIUSSS contracts include 6–12 free short-term counselling sessions per year. The HR portal lists the provider; calls are confidential and never reach your manager.
- If your collective agreement caps coverage at $1,500/year (most do): use it for the highest-leverage clinician you can — usually a psychologist with trauma training, not a generalist counsellor.
- Tax-deductible top-up: psychotherapy with a registered psychologist is a Medical Expense Tax Credit (METC) line item federally. Track receipts.
- Quebec specific: the FIQ has a parallel Programme d'aide aux infirmières (PAI). Check with your local — coverage is independent of the employer EAP and your manager is never notified.
- If you're in immediate crisis: 9-8-8 (Canada Suicide Crisis Helpline) or 1-866-APPELLE (Quebec). Both are free, 24/7, and never appear on your work record.
Frequently asked
- What percentage of Canadian nurses are burnt out?
- 93% of Canadian nurses report at least one symptom of burnout (CFNU 2024 Member Survey, n=5,595). Roughly 1 in 3 meet the clinical threshold for both anxiety and burnout (CFNU 2025, n=4,736).
- Is nurse burnout in Canada worse than before COVID-19?
- Yes. The clinical-burnout threshold sits at ~33% in 2025 vs. 29.3% in Stelnicki et al.'s pre-pandemic baseline (n=7,358). 1 in 6 Quebec healthcare workers who caught COVID-19 also developed long COVID (IJID 2025), compounding fatigue.
- What about emergency-department nurses specifically?
- 53% of Canadian ED nurses score in the high-burnout zone — about 20 percentage points above general wards (Journal of Emergency Nursing, 2024).
- How much mental-health coverage do Canadian nurses get?
- Most provincial collective agreements cap mental-health benefits at $1,500/year — roughly 8 to 12 therapy sessions, well below the evidence-based dose for trauma or major depression (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2022).