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Welcome to the Nursing Data Dashboard portal. This is a self-serve portal that provides transparency and accessibility to CNO data and allows you the opportunity to view trends in nursing data between 2016 and 2025.
The College of Nurses of Ontario is the authoritative source of province-wide nursing supply and distribution data in Ontario, and we are committed to ensuring we empower others with data to make meaningful decisions.
The Nursing Data Dashboard is a dynamic tool that will be updated annually as relevant information becomes available. If you have any questions about this data, please contact cnostats@cnomail.org .
1. Select a data set: Registration Renewal, or New Registrations.
i. Registration Renewal data is further broken down into three data sets: Registrants, Registrations, and Employment. They are defined in the sections below.
2. In the dashboard, choose the years of data you are interested in viewing, then select any other relevant pre-selected filters using the checkboxes.
If desired, use the
Filter
selection to select variables to filter for a subset of the data.
3. If you would like to compare data across different categories, select up to two variables in the
Groups
section.
4. Click the
Apply
button to apply any changes to the filters and/or groups. The
Reset
button will restore filters and groups back to their original states.
5. You may download the summary statistics in CSV or Excel format, or copy the data as text.
Each year CNO requires nurses in the General, Extended and Non-Practicing Class to renew their registration. As part of the renewal process, CNO collects registrants' demographic and employment information for each certificate of registration. Anyone who holds a certificate of registration with CNO is considered a registrant. Registrants may hold more than one certificate of registration and may report more than one employment position for each registration they hold.
The tool consists of three distinct data sets: Registrants, Registrations, and Employment. Queries cannot be combined across data sets. Below is a definition of each.
This data set consists of demographic data at the individual nurse, or registrant, level. Nurses who hold multiple registrations are only counted once. It can be filtered and grouped by the following variables: Registrations Held, and Age Group.
This data set consists of demographic data that is associated with each certificate of registration, as opposed to individual nurses. As a result, dual registrants may be counted twice if more than one nurse type is included in a query.
This data set provides information about nursing employment positions that are held by CNO registrants. Nurses may hold multiple employment positions, across more than one certificate of registration, and can be counted more than once. For example, a dual registrant in 2025 may hold 1 employment position under an RPN registration and 2 positions under an RN registration. If all employment positions are queried in 2025, this nurse would be included 3 times.
Nurses are eligible to register with CNO after they meet all the registration requirements for a particular category and class. Their certificate of registration allows them to practice nursing in Ontario as one of three nurse types:
RN:
Registered Nurse in the General Class
RPN:
Registered Practical Nurse in the General Class
NP:
Registered Nurse in the Extended Class
All new RN, RPN, and NP registrations granted in the calendar years (between Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st) from 2016 to 2024 are included in the data set. Nurses are categorized as new registrants or additional registrations based on their registration history. Nurses may hold registration in more than one category (RN or RPN) at the same time, but not multiple classes in the same category. For example, a nurse may hold both RN General and RPN General registrations, but cannot be in the RN General and Extended Class (NP) at the same time.
New registrants are nurses who register with CNO for the first time in either the General or Extended Class, regardless of category. They represent new nurses to the system and can only be categorized as a new registrant once in their career; for example, a new graduate who registers with CNO for the first time as an RPN. For any subsequent registration they will not be considered a new registrant. Registrants in the Non-Practicing Class who move back to the General Class and retired nurses who return to practice are considered reinstatements.
Additional registrations are nurses who were already registered with CNO when they gained a new registration and either a) completed an additional registration in a new category, or b) moved from the General to the Extended class. They represent enhanced capacity to the system, but not new nurses. For example, an RPN that gains additional RN registration or an RN that becomes an NP. In both cases, because the nurse already held CNO registration, they are considered additional registrations as opposed to new registrants.
There is a small number of applicants every year who register as an RN and RPN on the same day. In these cases, if they have no previous CNO registration, their RN registration is categorized as a new registrant, while their RPN is considered the additional registration.
CNO has established processes in place to ensure data integrity and accuracy. However, it is important to note small differences in the data between reporting periods may result from routine data quality improvements, including the correction of minor errors. These adjustments do not reflect substantive changes in the underlying trends.
To request an accessible version of this report, please contact us .
CNO has established processes in place to ensure data integrity and accuracy. However, it is important to note small differences in the data between reporting periods may result from routine data quality improvements, including the correction of minor errors. These adjustments do not reflect substantive changes in the underlying trends.
To request an accessible version of this report, please contact us .
CNO has established processes in place to ensure data integrity and accuracy. However, it is important to note small differences in the data between reporting periods may result from routine data quality improvements, including the correction of minor errors. These adjustments do not reflect substantive changes in the underlying trends.
To request an accessible version of this report, please contact us .
CNO has established processes in place to ensure data integrity and accuracy. However, it is important to note small differences in the data between reporting periods may result from routine data quality improvements, including the correction of minor errors. These adjustments do not reflect substantive changes in the underlying trends.
To request an accessible version of this report, please contact us .
Additional registrations: Nurses who were already registered with CNO when they gained a new registration and either
a) completed an additional registration in a new category
b) moved from the General to the Extended Class.
For example, an RPN that gains an additional RN registration or an RN that becomes an NP; in both cases, because the nurse already held CNO registration, they are considered additional registrations as opposed to new registrants. These nurses represent an enhanced capacity to the system, but are not new nurses. There is a small number of applicants every year who register as an RN and RPN on the same day. In these cases, if they have no previous CNO registration, their RN registration is categorized as a new registrant, while their RPN is considered the additional registration.
Annual Membership Renewal (AMR): Renewing of registration(s) yearly is required by CNO to continue practicing as a nurse. The renewal period typically starts in November and runs until March of the following year. Nurses who renew after December 31 are subjected to a late fee. If registrants have not renewed by February, they will be suspended. The final deadline occurs in March, whereafter nurses' registrations will be expired. In the renewal process, we collect nurses' demographic and employment information as part of our regulatory mandate.
Area of Practice: The focused practice area associated with a held employment position and reflects the type of care delivered and/or patient population (e.g., Acute Care, Cancer Care, Diabetes Care, etc.).
Employment Position: The role associated with a held employment position that reflects broad job titles or position names (e.g., Staff Nurse, Case Manager, etc.). These are held nursing positions report by nurses during the Annual Membership Renewal process. The data does not represent the total existing employment positions available within a sector or setting and does not address the number of unfilled positions.
Employment Sector: Community, Hospital, Long-Term Care, Other.
Employment Setting: The practice setting associated with a held employment position and reflects the immediate practice environment (e.g., Acute Care Hospital, Cancer Centre, etc.).
Employment Status: Categorizes registrants or registrations based on different combinations of employment; for example, employed in nursing only, employed in non-nursing, not employed, or on leave.
First-time renewal: A registrant's first renewal after successfully registering with CNO in a specific category and class; for example, 2025 is the first renewal year for a nurse who initially registered in 2024.
Nurse Type: Registered Nurse (RN), Registered Practical Nurse (RPN), Nurse Practitioner (NP)
Ontario Health (OH) Region: Regions in Ontario in which each employment position is held. For more information about Ontario Health Regions please visit the Ontario Health Regions webpage.
Overall Working Status: For registrants employed in nursing, it indicates the highest level of employment associated with a certificate of registration among all positions held in Ontario. Values in descending order are: "Full time Employment", "Part time Employment", "Casual Employment". Other values include: "Not Specified" or "Not Applicable". The three examples below illustrate how overall working status is derived.
Example 1:
If a nurse holds both a casual nursing position
and a full-time nursing position associated with a single registration,
the overall working status is full-time.
Example 2:
If a nurse holds three casual nursing positions associated with a single
registration, the overall working status is casual.
Example 3:
If a nurse holds one part-time nursing position and one full-time
non-nursing position associated with a single registration,
the overall working status is part-time.
Reinstatement: The process by which former nurses (who have resigned or had their certificate of registration expire or who are in the Non-Practising Class) can return to practice by reinstating a previously held certificate of registration. (Learn more about reinstatements.)
Renewal Year: The year for which the registrant is renewing their registration.
Working Status: Indicates whether an employment position held is full-time, part-time or casual.
Age Group: Calculated using full birth date and the date when a nurse successfully registers with CNO or renews their registration (e.g., 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, ..., 65+).
Employment Region: Ontario Health (OH) region of nursing employment.
New Registration Type: An indicator for new registrants or additional registrations.
Location of Nursing Education: Location where a registrant completed their initial nursing education for their corresponding certification of registration.
Renewal Group: An indicator for first-time registration renewals.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions regarding the Nursing Data Dashboard, please feel to contact us at cnostats@cnomail.org .