Jakarta. Indonesia is set to deploy healthcare workers to Canada’s New Brunswick.

This partnership was high up in the agenda during Indonesian Ambassador to Canada Muhsin Syihab’s recent visit to Fredicton. The visit is a follow-up to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Migrant Worker Protection Ministry and the New Brunswick Healthcare Department. 

"New Brunswick needs a skilled workforce in the healthcare sector. This collaboration opportunity can bring competent nurses from Indonesia to work in the healthcare and senior care sectors here," New Brunswick Minister of Health John Dornan said.

Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick Louise Imbeault and several ministers present at the meeting viewed the collaboration as a positive step for bilateral ties. New Brunswick's Minister of Immigration Jean-Claude D'Amours is also upbeat about the prospects of future partnerships in healthcare, education, and construction.

Ambassador Muhsin also met with representatives of two local leading healthcare company groups: Horizon Health Network at Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital and Shannex at Niall & Medley Hall Nursing Home. 

"This collaboration opens up new opportunities for Indonesian professionals and demonstrates Indonesia's contribution to supporting the Canadian healthcare sector," Muhsin said.

Recruitment is expected to begin in fall 2026, with the first batch to be dispatched in the first half of 2027.

Ambassador Muhsin explored the potential for collaboration with the University of New Brunswick to improve the capabilities of Indonesian nurses. In recent years, UNB has partnered with several foreign universities, hence opening up the possibility of similar collaborations with Indonesian nursing education institutions.

The visit also served as an opportunity to explore collaboration in other areas. In the renewable energy sector, a meeting with NB Power and a visit to UNB's Centre for Nuclear Energy Research provided an opportunity to exchange ideas on the use of nuclear energy to meet electricity needs as Indonesia wants to tap into this energy source.

A meeting with the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce discussed new trade and investment opportunities leveraging the momentum of the Indonesia-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (ICA-CEPA), signed in September 2025.