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Quebec leads all provinces in its proportion of female physicians — a trend that has been on the rise since at least 2013, according to a new study.

Quebec also has one of the highest rates of physicians per 100,000 population in the country, renewing questions as to why access to doctors is still a problem in the province.

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What’s more, the annual study by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) reaffirms that Quebec medical specialists earn considerably more than their counterparts in Ontario. The pay gap between Quebec and Ontario specialists became an issue in the last provincial election campaign, with now-premier François Legault pledging to claw back their pay.

Women comprise nearly half of all doctors in Quebec — that is, 48.5 per cent in 2017 — up from 44.9 per cent in 2013. By comparison, female doctors in Ontario constituted 39.4 per cent of the medical profession in 2017, and the national rate stood at 41 per cent.