Ontario - CaRMS

Updated June 30, 2023

University of Ottawa
Queen’s University
Northern Ontario School of Medicine
University of Toronto
McMaster University
Western University

2024 Cycle Information

Criteria applicable for all medical graduates; for specific information, please see tabs.

Please note that the criteria on this page is from the 2024 match. Updated 2025 provincial criteria will be posted on this page in the upcoming months, once it has been reviewed by the province.

Criteria for all medical graduates

CRITERIA APPLICABLE TO ALL MEDICAL GRADUATES

GENERAL INFORMATION

For Entry in the 2024-25 Academic Year

The Ontario Faculties of Medicine and Ontario Ministry of Health have agreed to the following policies for the PGY3 FM/ES 2024 match. It is important to note individual programs may have specific criteria used to review applications. Please carefully review the program specific criteria as well as the provincial criteria listed below. All matched applicants must meet the licensing criteria for registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) for postgraduate education. CPSO 

ANY DELAYS IN PROVIDING ALL REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION TO CPSO MAY RESULT IN A DELAY IN ISSUANCE OF A CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION AND A DELAY IN START OF POSTGRADUATE TRAINING BEYOND JULY 1.

LICENSING BODY

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario

SOURCE OF FUNDING

Ministry of Health

TRAINING LEVEL ELIGIBILITY

Subspecialty: Enhanced skills

Training level: Current Canadian Family Medicine training
Eligibility details: Current residents enrolled in CFPC accredited Family Medicine programs who will be completing PGY2 on or before December 31, 2024. PGY2 residents with completion dates between July 1 and December 31, 2024 must declare their completion date on the application form and request a late start.

Current residents enrolled in ACGME accredited Family Medicine residency programs in the U.S. who are Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents may apply to the PGY3 FM/ES Match if they meet the CFPC requirements outlined on the College of Family Physicians of Canada website.

RESTRICTIONS

The FM/ES match cannot be used for transfers or re-entry.

Sponsored Residents (Foreign Governments) or Trainees on work permits must apply directly through the school’s PGME office for subspecialty training. These positions are supernumerary and not part of the CaRMS FM/ES Match process.

Please be aware that most, if not all, hospitals in Ontario have mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies in place that require, in the absence of a valid medical or human rights exemption, proof of vaccination. Acceptable vaccination must be in accordance with Health Canada. Residents matched to any Ontario residency program must ensure they are able to comply with Hospital mandates in order to start training on July 1, 2024.

MATCH STREAMS

Competitive streams

CITIZENSHIP REQUIREMENTS

Accepted Citizenship types

Canadian citizen

Canadian permanent resident

Accepted Citizenship documents

Canadian Birth Certificate or Act of Birth

Canadian citizenship card (both sides of card)

Canadian Permanent Resident Card (both sides of card)

Certificate of Canadian Citizenship

Confirmation of Permanent Residence in Canada

Passport page showing Canadian citizenship

Deadline for providing Citizenship documents

File review opening

Notarized/certified photocopy of Birth Certificate issued by an authority in Canada accompanied by photo ID (must be Canadian government-issued photo ID)
Failure to provide proof of citizenship will result in the removal of your application. No other forms of verification are acceptable.
Documents must be notarized/certified photocopies. Notarized/certified copies must be dated and not older than two years from the date of application submission deadline; otherwise, a new notarized/certified copy is required.
Confirmation of permanent residence must be accompanied by a photo ID (must be a Canadian government-issued photo ID).

CaRMS is partnering with third-party organizations to automate the verification of citizenship/legal status required by postgraduate offices for entry into residency. Third-party verification simplifies the process for applicants and programs. All applicants who do not receive third-party citizenship verification will be required to upload and assign an acceptable proof of citizenship document. Please see additional information here.

Additional criteria for CMGs

ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR CANADIAN MEDICAL GRADUATES A Canadian Medical Graduate (CMG) or U.S. Allopathic Medical Graduate (USMG) is an individual who received their medical degree from a medical school accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) or the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).
PROOF OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY	Applicants must be able to communicate proficiently in the language of instruction and patient care of the matching school and training site.
MEDICAL COUNCIL OF CANADA EXAMS	Please review individual program descriptions for additional information.
RETURN OF SERVICE (ROS) REQUIREMENTS	N/A
MEDICAL EDUCATION	Please review individual program descriptions for additional information.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION	Permanent Residents: Successful applicants who hold Permanent Resident status in Canada will be required to disclose their Country of Citizenship to the postgraduate medical education office in order to comply with the current reporting requirements of the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities. Matched applicants: CaRMS will provide their electronic data file to the matched university’s postgraduate education office and other relevant departments in the matching University. The postgraduate office will share the information as needed, but not limited to, the respective University, the Ontario Physician Reporting Centre, the Canadian Post-MD Education Registry, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, the Professional Association of Residents of Ontario, teaching hospitals and other training sites, Touchstone Institute and the Ontario Ministry of Health. Revisions to Eligibility Criteria: The Ontario Faculties of Medicine and Ontario Ministry of Health reserve the right to make changes to the information published on the CaRMS website pertaining to Ontario postgraduate training without prior notice. Failure to meet or provide proof of any of the stated requirements may result in the applicant file being removed at any point during the match.

Additional criteria for IMGs

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES An International Medical Graduate (IMG) is an individual who received their medical degree from a medical school that is listed with the World Directory of Medical Schools (World Directory) published by the Foundation for the Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) and the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME). In Ontario, an International Medical Graduate (IMG) is an individual who received their medical degree from a medical school not accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) or the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). A U.S. Osteopathic Medical Graduate (USMG- Osteo) is an individual who received their medical degree from an accredited Osteopathic medical school.
PROOF OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY	Applicant must be able to communicate proficiently in the language of instruction and patient care of the matching school and training hospital.
MEDICAL COUNCIL OF CANADA EXAMS	Examination: MCCQE Part I Requirement: Mandatory with exceptions Date/milestone assessment submission required: File review opening The CPSO is currently undergoing a review of the pathways to registration. Further information on possible exceptions to the MCCQE Part I will be posted to the Ontario provincial criteria as they become available. IMGs who are applying to subspecialty training programs from programs other than Canadian residencies (e.g. U.S. core training programs) must satisfy all CPSO requirements for educational licensure, including relevant licensing examinations in effect at the time of application.
RETURN OF SERVICE (ROS) REQUIREMENTS	The Ministry requests all ROS agreements before June 1 of the year they were matched. All agreements should be returned to the Ministry prior to the start of residency training. It is the responsibility of the applicant to confirm eligibility with respect to ROS requirements of other provinces. More information for IMG ROS can be found here: Return of Service Information about the Ministry’s ROS programs is available here: Return of Service Program A letter of understanding must be submitted as part of the application indicating your understanding that the Ontario return of service obligation must be fulfilled prior to completing any other provincial return of service obligation.
MEDICAL EDUCATION	IMGs must be graduates of an acceptable medical school on the World Directory of Medical Schools list. A copy of medical school marks/transcripts and medical degree/diploma must be submitted. Documents that are not in English must be accompanied by a translation. All IMGs are required to have their documents verified through physiciansapply.ca.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION	Permanent Residents: Successful applicants who hold Permanent Resident status in Canada will be required to disclose their Country of Citizenship to the postgraduate medical education office in order to comply with the current reporting requirements of the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities. Matched applicants: CaRMS will provide their electronic data file to the matched university’s postgraduate education office and other relevant departments in the matching University. The postgraduate office will share the information as needed, but not limited to, the respective University, with the Ontario Physician Reporting Centre, Canadian Post-MD Education Registry, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, the Professional Association of Residents of Ontario, teaching hospitals and other training sites, Touchstone Institute and the Ontario Ministry of Health. Revisions to Eligibility Criteria: The Ontario Faculties of Medicine and the Ontario Ministry of Health reserve the right to make changes to the information published on the CaRMS website pertaining to Ontario postgraduate training without prior notice. Failure to meet or provide proof of any of the stated requirements may result in the applicant’s file being removed at any time during the match.