Ontario is facing a dietitian access crisis — and the data proves it.

The College of Dietitians of Ontario's 2023-24 Annual Report tells a story that should concern every health system planner, policy maker, and Ontarian who cares about preventive care.

Here's what the numbers show:

The workforce is concentrated in acute care — not prevention.

Of Ontario's 4,545 registered dietitians (201 are not in Ontario), 1,479 work in hospitals. Only 663 are in private practice — largely inaccessible without out-of-pocket payment. Just 215 work in public health. The system is structurally designed to fund nutrition intervention *after* people are already sick enough to be hospitalized.

Early and mid-career dietitians are leaving:
120 RDs resigned their licences in a single year. 83% of them were under 50. These are not retirements — these are practitioners in their most productive years choosing to leave the profession entirely. When compensation and working conditions don't reflect the value of the work, talent walks.

A retirement cliff is approaching:
Approximately 1,045 active registrants — nearly 1 in 4 — are aged 50 or older. With only 254 new registrants entering the profession this year, the math is stark: Ontario cannot replace the experienced dietitians it will lose within the next decade at the current rate.

Multi-provincial licensing is masking the real picture:
201 Ontario RDs are reported as working outside the province — but many hold multi-provincial licences to serve clients virtually across Canada. These practitioners are filling access gaps in other provinces, often while absorbing significant administrative and financial costs of multiple college registrations. This is not a workforce distribution solution. It is a compensation problem in disguise.

What this means for Ontarians:

Nutrition is one of the most powerful tools in chronic disease prevention — for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, digestive health, and more.

But Ontarians largely cannot access a dietitian until they are already in the acute care system. By then, the cost to the health system — and to the individual — is exponentially higher.

The evidence is clear. Investing in dietitian access at the primary care level isn't a cost. It's a saving.

It's time for policy to reflect that.

Data from College of Dietitians of Ontario https://collegeofdietitians.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CDO-Annual-Report-2023-24-ENG.pdf

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