Quebec (Second Iteration)

CRITERIA APPLICABLE TO ALL MEDICAL GRADUATES

Quebec’s four faculties of medicine and the Quebec Ministry of Health have agreed on the following policies for the 2026 R-1 match. Individual residency programs may have additional criteria for their own candidate evaluation process.

Please pay close attention to specific program criteria and to the provincial criteria detailed below.

All match candidates must meet the Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ)’s registration criteria.

Criteria for recency of practice or medical studies

Applicants must be able to demonstrate with official documentation that they have:

• completed their undergraduate medical education (Doctor of Medicine, MD); or
• been in a residency program; or
• practised medicine independently*; or
• Practised medicine independently* or successfully completed the CEDIS program (assessment/orientation session and medical skills and knowledge refresher internship)

within the four years preceding the admission application.

Among the candidates that correspond to the above criteria, preference will be given to applicants who can demonstrate that they have had a sustained and continuous independent clinical practice for a minimum duration of one year within the four years preceding the application.

*Please note that observerships and telemedicine are not considered independent clinical practice.

R-1 admission to residency training programs via CaRMS occurs via two streams: the regular stream and the particular stream.

Regular stream (contingent régulier)

This stream is reserved for graduates of accredited medical schools in Canada and the United States.

It is also open to International medical graduates (IMGs) who have completed the equivalence process of the Collège des médecins du Québec and who have never undertaken residency training in Canada or the United States (including fellowships).

Graduates must be Citizens or permanent residents of Canada, or Quebec MD visa students.

Graduates who do not meet these criteria should look into applying via the particular stream.

Only candidates meeting the criteria will be considered for the regular stream. Other candidates may be considered for the particular stream if they meet the criteria.

U.S. Allopathic Medical Graduates (USMG)

Medical students or graduates who have obtained or are in the process of obtaining a medical degree from an allopathic medical school in the U.S can either be considered Canadian Medical Graduates (CMG’s) or International Medical Graduates (IMG’s) within the residency application process, depending on their graduation date. This differentiation is due to changes made in the joint accreditation process of medical schools in the U.S and Canada.

• If you graduated from a U.S. allopathic medical school before July 1, 2025, you are considered a Canadian Medical Graduate (CMG). Refer to the CMG tab for eligibility requirements.
• If you graduated on or after July 1, 2025, you are considered an International Medical Graduate (IMG). Refer to the IMG tab for eligibility requirements.

U.S. Graduates without Canadian Citizenship

An American medical graduate seeking residency training in Quebec who is an American citizen and not a Canada/US dual citizen must apply under a special quota called the particular stream.

U.S. Graduates with Canadian Citizenship

Canadian citizens may apply in the regular stream, via CaRMS if they have never undertaken residency training in Canada or the United States (including fellowships) but they must obtain recognition of equivalence of their MD degree from the CMQ beforehand.

Graduates of a U.S. Osteopathic School (DO)

Graduates of a US osteopathic school (DO) accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation are also eligible in accordance with the above criteria.

Particular stream (contingent particulier)

Who is eligible to apply for particular stream programs in Quebec in the second iteration of R-1?

This stream is intended for graduates of accredited medical schools in Canada and the United States.

It is also open to International medical graduates (IMGs) who have completed the equivalence process of the Collège des médecins du Québec, who have previously undertaken residency training in Canada or the United States (including fellowships) and/or who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

These graduates may be:

1. Canadian citizens, permanent residents, visa holders, or without legal status in Canada.
2. Graduates who have already participated in a Quebec residency program, but only if 12 months have passed between the end of training in the previous program and admission to the new program. Candidates who will have terminated their previous residency training prior to December 31, 2025 may participate in this match; the beginning of their new program would be adjusted so at least 12 months have passed between the end of the previous training and the beginning of the new one. Any candidate registered in a postgraduate program on or after January 1^st, 2026, is not eligible to this match. Residents who are interested in transferring programs should communicate with their postgraduate office to discuss this request.
3. IMGs whose equivalence has been recognized by the Collège des médecins du Québec, but only if they are not eligible for the regular stream.
4. Graduates falling under the Quebec-France Mutual Recognition Agreement. These candidates have graduated from a faculty of medicine in France and have a French state diploma and hold French citizenship.

When equivalent applications are reviewed in the admissions process of a given program at a given faculty, applicants who are graduates of a Québec medical school and/or who have a marked interest for medical practice in Québec at the end of their training will take precedence in the selection for particular stream positions.

• Out-of-province visa students are not eligible to apply to Quebec programs via the regular stream due to provincial regulations. Consequently, visa-holding medical graduates from other provinces are not eligible for admission in the regular stream during the first iteration. They may, however, apply to the particular stream.
• IMGs who have not obtained recognition of equivalence from the Collège des médecins du Québec are not eligible for admission.
• Candidates who have undertaken residency training in Canada or in the United States (including fellowships) are not eligible for admission in the regular stream during the first iteration. They may, however, apply to the particular stream.