The Canadian province of British Columbia has begun an advertising campaign this month, hoping to attract health-care workers northward from the U.S. west coast with ads on digital screens within a 10-mileradius of health care facilities at 14,000 locations, across Oregon, Washington and California.

“With the chaos and uncertainty happening in the U.S., we are seizing the opportunity to attract the talent we need to join and strengthen our public, universal health care system in British Columbia,” Health Minister Josie Osborne said in a news release.

In addition to the digital screens, the ads will appear in six medical trade publications, on social media and play during podcasts. The goal is to reach 80% of health care workers in target areas through the six-week campaign, according to Osborne.

“To practice evidence-based care and put people first, follow your heart to British Columbia, Canada,” reads one ad, posted to the official B.C. Youtube channel earlier this week.

Canada, which has a publicly-funded health care system, is facing a shortage of doctors and other health care providers, following burnout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The shortage has particularly struck rural communities. To fill the gap, the Canadian government has looked to attracting health care providers from other countries, such as the U.S., and has worked to streamline licensing requirements to make it easier for those workers to transfer their qualifications and start practicing.

Much of that work happens through the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Biritish Columbia. The College of Nurses and Midwives has already created a streamlined process for nurses to transfer qualifications without going through a third-party assessment, and the college is collaborating with counterparts in the U.S. to access databases to verify employment and educational information.

B.C. is still working with the College of Physicians and Surgeons on a similar process.

Reporter Geoff Pursinger contributed to this article.