Registrant Statistics

About these Statistics

This page contains statistics about nurses who are currently registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) as of April 1, 2024.

CNO registers nurses in two categories (Registered Nurse [RN] and Registered Practical Nurse [RPN]) and multiple classes, as shown in the following table:

Any nurse who holds a certificate of registration with CNO is considered a registrant. A registration is specific to a category and class, and registrants may hold more than one registration.

General & Extended Class: Nurses who have met all the requirements to become registered to work as nurses in Ontario are registered in the general class. Registered Nurses in the Extended Class are Nurse Practitioners (NPs).

Temporary Class:Nurses in the Temporary Class are allowed to practise under defined terms, conditions and limitations. They are eligible to join the General Class after they meet all the requirements.

Non-Practising Class: Nurses who want to keep their registration when they are not practicing may register in the Non-Practising Class. They cannot practice nursing in Ontario, either paid or unpaid.

Learn more about Classes of Registration.

Registrants in the General and Extended Classes

The following graph shows the number of registrants holding active registration in the General or Extended Class at the start of each month.

Although the number of registrants in the General and Extended Classes displays an overall upward trend, the numbers follow a cyclical pattern in line with CNO's Annual Membership Renewal process.

Each year, the number of registrants peaks in December and then falls between January and March as some registrants choose not to renew their General or Extended Class registration and instead enter the Non-Practising Class, resign their registration or let their registration expire due to non-payment of the renewal fee. After March, the number of registrants starts to grow as new nurses register for the first time and former registrants reinstate their registration in the General and Extended Classes during the year.

To demonstrate the growth and decline of registrants holding active registration in the General or Extended Class at the start of each month, the following PDF includes the number of registrants holding active registration, monthly additions, monthly losses, and monthly net changes. 

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Registrants in General and Extended Classes Year Over Year

The following graph shows the number of registrants holding registration in the General or Extended Class at the start of each April for the previous five years, by the categories and classes of registration they hold. Dual registrants hold registrations in both the RN and RPN categories at the same time. Presenting registrant totals at the same time each year allows for year-over-year comparisons, while accounting for seasonal fluctuations.

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The following table shows the number of registrants in the General and Extended Classes at the start of April 2024 and compares it to the same time in the previous year.

Current NP Specialties

Current Registrations in the Extended Class by Specialty as of April 1, 2024

All Registered Nurses in the Extended Class (NPs) have one or more specialty certificates. The following table shows the number of specialty certificates held by NPs as of April 1, 2024.

Registrants in the Temporary Class

The following graph shows the number of registrants holding registration in the Temporary Class at the start of each month.

The numbers vary greatly throughout the year. They typically peak in July as graduates from Ontario nursing programs register in the Temporary Class while preparing to write the registration exam and complete their General Class application. The spike in 2021 reflects the nurses who applied for the Emergency Assignment Class (EAC), which was activated to support health human resource needs, but were redirected toward the Temporary Class because registration was valid for six months instead of 60 days.

In late 2022, regulation changes to the Temporary Class went into effect to hasten the registration of international applicants. A description of the regulation changes and information on the number of new nurses who entered the system since the regulation changes went into effect can be seen on our Applicant Statistics webpage.

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Registrants in Temporary Class Year Over Year

The following graph shows the number of registrants holding registration in the Temporary Class at the start of each April for the previous five years, by the categories and classes of registration they hold. Presenting registrant totals at the same time each year allows for year-over-year comparisons, while accounting for seasonal fluctuations.

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The following table shows the number of registrants in the Temporary Class at the start of April 2024 and compares it to the same time in the previous year.

Registrants in the Non-Practising Class

The following graph shows the number of registrants holding registration in the Non-Practising Class at the start of each month.

Although the number of registrants in the Non-Practising Class displays an overall upward trend, the numbers follow a cyclical pattern in line with CNO’s Annual Membership Renewal process. As a percentage, Non-Practising registrations make up around 8% of all registrations, as shown in our Registration Statistics Report 2022, and has remained relatively stable since 2018.

Each year, the number of registrants in the Non-Practising Class spikes in January and February. This spike mainly consists of nurses who are not able to renew in the General or Extended classes, because they no longer meet the declaration of practice. These members must choose to enter the Non-Practising Class, resign their General or Extended class registration or let it expire.

The number of registrants in the Non-Practising Class falls in March, when nurses who do not wish to renew their Non-Practising registration either resign it or let it expire.

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Registrants in Non-Practising Class Year Over Year

The following graph shows the number of registrants holding registration in the Non-Practising Class at the start of each April for the previous five years, by the categories and classes of registration they hold. Dual Non-Practising registrants hold Non-Practising registrations in both the RN and RPN categories at the same time. Presenting registrant totals at the same time each year allows for year-over-year comparisons, while accounting for seasonal fluctuations.

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The following table shows the number of registrants in the Non-Practising Class at the start of March 2024 and compares it to the same time in the previous year.

New Registrations in the General and Extended Classes

New Registrations represent the number of nurses who registered in a particular category and class of registration for the first time. They may already hold registration with CNO at the time of registration. A nurse registering for the first time as a dual RN/RPN registrant would be counted in the RN General and RPN General Classes.

New Registrations are divided into two types: New Registrants and Additional Registrations.

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*

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.

Adding New Registrants and Additional Registrations will give Total New Registrations.

For more data related to our applicants seeking registration, see our Applicant Statistics.

To learn more about our registration process, see our Registration Requirements.

The following tables show the number of new registrants and new registrations in each category and class for three date ranges:

• The past 12 months from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024   

• Year to date (YTD) from January 1, 2024 to March 31, 2024    
  

• The previous month – March 2024 

New Registrations by Type

New Registrants by Category and Class

New Registrants by Location of Education

Additional Registrations by Category and Class

Additional Registrations by Location of Education

*Please note the definition was modified in January, 2023. Previously, new registrants were defined as nurses who were not already registered in the General or Extended Class at the time a new registration is granted.

Page last reviewed April 02, 2024