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New national statistics show Alberta doctors continue to be the third-best paid group in Canada, receiving an average of $354,492 last year.

The sum is a 1.8-per-cent increase over the previous year, when gross income for Alberta physicians actually fell for the first time in at least a decade. Doctors in Ontario and Saskatchewan continue to be the best paid in the country, though Alberta physicians closed the gap somewhat in 2013-14.

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The numbers come from the most recent National Physician Database, an annual report compiled by the Canadian Institute for Health Information that examines public spending on doctors around the country.

Among the highlights of the new report were numbers showing Alberta remains one of the country’s leaders in adding new physicians to its workforce.

Physician advocacy groups warn that the average payment figures offered by the institute can be misleading, since how much each doctor earns is subject to a number of complex factors such as location and area of specialty. Most doctors have significant overhead costs for running an office, which can account for anywhere from 20 to 60 per cent of a physician’s gross income, the groups say.