A nurse with a master's degree who can diagnose, order tests and prescribe. Two degrees, six figures, huge demand.
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Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Good for a wall or a guidance counsellor.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Typical
$125,000
New grad
$105,000
Senior or hospital
$145,000
Most NPs (nurse practitioners) are salaried. Job Bank's national median is about $62 an hour, roughly $128,000 a year at full-time hours. Hospital NPs sit on a union grid, roughly $60 to $70 an hour in Ontario. Community clinic NPs are funded by the province and have often been paid less, which is a live political fight. Pay varies by province.
$105,000 to $115,000
First NP (nurse practitioner) job, on top of your years as a registered nurse
Remote and northern nursing stations pay more and add isolation allowances. Alberta and BC are near the top; some Atlantic and community clinic roles are lower.
$140,000 to $160,000+
Senior hospital NPs (nurse practitioners), northern posts, or locum work
A few NPs run private clinics and charge patients directly, which is legal but controversial. Most stay in the public system.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The low end is a four year nursing degree at the cheaper end of Canadian tuition, the NCLEX-RN (the registered nurse licensing exam), a two year nurse practitioner master's degree, the practitioner licensing exam and the registration fees. The high end is the same eight or nine years at higher tuition. Almost everyone works as a registered nurse for a few years between the two degrees, so the master's is usually paid out of a salary rather than borrowed, and some employers and provinces cover that tuition in return for a service commitment. The registered nurse exam fee is rising in 2027, so budget a little more if you qualify after that.
Most people work as an RN (registered nurse) for years between the two degrees, so the master's is often paid for out of a nursing salary. Some employers and provinces cover tuition in exchange for a service commitment.
Defined-benefit pension
HOOPP (the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan) in Ontario hospitals; similar public plans elsewhere.
Extended health and dental
Paid vacation and sick days
Often 4 weeks or more with seniority.
Union protection in hospitals
Community clinics vary.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
Become a registered nurse, work for a few years, then do a master's degree.
High school
Grades 11 and 12
Grade 12 English, biology, chemistry and a math. Nursing admission is competitive.
BScN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing)
4 years
A 4-year university nursing degree with clinical placements.
Pass the NCLEX-RN (the registered nurse exam) and work as an RN (registered nurse)
2 or more years
Ontario's program requires the equivalent of 2 years of full-time nursing practice within the past 5 years, and successful applicants often have more.
Master's degree in the NP (nurse practitioner) stream
2 to 4 years
About 2 years full time, or longer part time while you keep nursing. Includes hundreds of supervised clinical hours.
NP exam and registration
A few months
Since July 2026, every NP (nurse practitioner) applicant in Ontario writes one national exam, the CNPLE (Canadian Nurse Practitioner Licensure Exam), a 4-hour multiple-choice test. Then you register in the extended class with your provincial nursing college.
Biology
Required for nursing.
Chemistry
Required at most nursing schools.
Math
Any Grade 12 math.
English
A master's degree is a lot of writing.
NP (nurse practitioner) is a protected title. You register as an NP, or in Ontario in the extended class, with your provincial nursing college such as the College of Nurses of Ontario. NPs can diagnose, order tests, prescribe medications including controlled drugs in most provinces, and refer to specialists. Scope differs a little by province, so moving takes slightly more paperwork than for an RN (registered nurse).
Master's programs at most large universities. Some examples:
Nine Ontario universities share one primary care program: McMaster, Ottawa, Queen's, Western, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), York, Windsor, Lakehead and Laurentian. The University of Toronto runs its own.
Ontario
UBC (University of British Columbia), University of Victoria, University of Northern British Columbia
British Columbia
University of Alberta, University of Calgary, Athabasca University (online)
Alberta
Dalhousie, Memorial
Atlantic Canada
Things you don't need, but that help.
Primary health care (family, all ages)
The most common stream. Clinics, community health centres, rural towns.
Adult or pediatric acute care
Hospital NPs (nurse practitioners) in the ICU (intensive care unit), cardiology, oncology and emergency.
Remote and northern practice
Nursing stations in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and northern provinces pay top dollar and give you the widest scope.
Doctorate
A DNP (doctor of nursing practice) or PhD for leadership, teaching and research.
Rural or emergency nursing experience
Broad experience is what NP (nurse practitioner) programs want to see.
Precepting nursing students
Shows leadership on your application.
Comfort with being the senior person in the room
In many clinics you are the most senior clinician on site.
A second language
French, or the language of the community you serve.
Ontario funds roughly two dozen NP (nurse practitioner) led clinics, where nurse practitioners run the whole practice and physicians consult in. Several provinces are expanding the model to cover people who have no family doctor. It is one of the fastest-growing corners of Canadian health care.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
In a clinic: 15 to 25 patients, 15 to 30 minutes each. Sore throats, diabetes check-ins, prenatal visits, mental health, a rash, a kid with an ear infection. You examine, diagnose, order bloodwork, prescribe and chart. In a hospital: rounds with the team, managing a group of patients, procedures, and being the person nurses call when something changes. Mostly weekdays.
The good
The hard parts
Like the field but not this exact job?
Things people don't tell you.
NPs (nurse practitioners) in every province can prescribe medications, and most provinces now let them prescribe controlled drugs such as opioids and stimulants. Ontario added that in 2017.
Canada had about 8,600 nurse practitioners in direct patient care in 2025, and the number grew 10% in a single year. Most provinces are funding hundreds more seats.
Around 6 million Canadians do not have a family doctor. Nurse practitioners are the main way provinces are trying to close that gap.
The role took off in Canada in the 1960s and 70s to staff remote northern nursing stations that had no physician. Nurses there were already diagnosing and treating; the NP (nurse practitioner) credential made it official.
Last checked September 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students.