Ontario - CaRMS

Updated September 16, 2025

University of Ottawa
Queen’s University
NOSM University
University of Toronto
Toronto Metropolitan University
McMaster University
Western University

2026 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 2025 match. Updated 2026 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 FOR ALL MEDICAL GRADUATES
GENERAL INFORMATION	For Entry in the 2026-2027 Academic Year The Ontario Faculties of Medicine and the Ontario Ministry of Health have agreed to the following policies for the 2026 Medicine Subspecialty Match. It is important to note that 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 criteria for registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons for postgraduate education. ANY DELAYS IN PROVIDING ALL REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION TO CPSO MAY RESULT IN A DELAY IN THE ISSUANCE OF A CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION AND A DELAY IN THE 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: Medicine subspecialties Training level: Current resident Eligibility details:  Royal College or ACGME accredited Internal Medicine programs who will be completing PGY3 training in Internal Medicine on or before December 31, 2026. PGY3 residents with completion dates between July 1 and December 31, 2026 must declare their completion date on the application form and request a late start. Residents who are planning to complete a “Chief Medical Resident (CMR)” year are eligible to apply in their PGY4 year provided: The PGY4 year is supported outside of the usual funding source (e.g. Provincial government funding). The year cannot be self-funded, and The Resident remains registered in an accredited Internal Medicine program for the full length of the Chief Medical Resident year. For Critical Care Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Pain Medicine, Palliative Medicine and Occupational Medicine. Current residents in their final year of a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada accredited program are eligible to apply. Some restrictions apply. For more information visit RCPSC. Subspecialty: Forensic psychiatry Training level: Current resident Eligibility details:  Current residents in their final year of a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada accredited program are eligible to apply. Some restrictions apply. For more information visit RCPSC. Residents with completion dates between July 1 and December 31, 2026 must declare their completion date on the application form and request a late start. Subspecialty: Geriatric psychiatry Training level: Current resident Eligibility details:  Current residents in their final year of a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada accredited program are eligible to apply. Some restrictions apply. For more information visit RCPSC. Residents with completion dates between July 1 and December 31, 2026 must declare their completion date on the application form and request a late start. Subspecialty: Thoracic surgery Training level: Current resident Eligibility details:  Current residents in their final year of a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada accredited program are eligible to apply. Some restrictions apply. For more information visit RCPSC. Residents with completion dates between July 1 and December 31, 2026 must declare their completion date on the application form and request a late start. Subspecialty: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Training level: Current resident Eligibility details:  Current residents who are enrolled in Royal College or ACGME accredited Psychiatry programs who will be completing PGY4 training in Psychiatry on or before December 31, 2026. Residents with completion dates between July 1 and December 31, 2026 must declare their completion date on the application form and request a late start. For more information visit RCPSC.
RESTRICTIONS	The Fall Subspecialty Residency 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 Fall Subspecialty Residency Match process. Please be aware that most, if not all, hospitals in Ontario have mandatory immunization policies in place that require, in the absence of a valid medical or human rights exemption, proof of vaccination. Each university will have guidelines on mandatory health screening requirements and the exemption request process. Please visit the individual universities’ websites for more information.
MATCH STREAMS	N/A
CITIZENSHIP REQUIREMENTS	See the Summary of citizenship requirements.
PROOF OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY	See the Summary of language proficiency requirements.

SECOND ITERATION
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO ALL MEDICAL GRADUATES	N/A

Additional criteria for CMGs

ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR CANADIAN MEDICAL GRADUATES
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, 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 file being removed at any point during the match.

Additional criteria for IMGs

ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES
MEDICAL COUNCIL OF CANADA EXAMS	MCCQE Part I Requirement: Mandatory with Exception Date/milestone assessment submission required: File review opening If applicants have completed residency training in the USA, they may be exempted from the MCCQE1 requirement if they have passed the USMLE Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3. Any exemptions will be determined by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Medical Council of Canada (MCC) examination data and documents are only accepted as transfers from physiciansapply.ca. Instructions on how to transfer documents from physiciansapply.ca to your CaRMS account can be found here. The CPSO has updated the pathways to registration information. Please see the CPSO website. IMGs who are currently in Canadian residency training programs who are applying to subspecialty 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 of Health requests all ROS agreements before July 1^st 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 If you have further questions, please contact the Ministry of Health at PPUProgramOfficer@ontario.ca PLEASE NOTE: YOU ARE REQUIRED TO FULFILL A ROS COMMITMENT IN ONTARIO IMMEDIATELY UPON COMPLETION OF YOUR SUBSPECIALTY TRAINING.
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, Universities, Research Excellence and Security. 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, 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 point during the match.