With the 2026 R-1 match now complete, we are pleased to share some high-level aggregate data regarding the outcomes of this year’s match:
Canada will welcome 3,922 graduating students and physicians into residency training programs after this year’s R-1 Main Residency Match (R-1 match), the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) announced today.
The R-1 match is an integral step in the career progression of physicians in the Canadian healthcare system, as it determines where they will complete the residency training required to become licensed, independent physicians. The match is run in two iterations, or phases, and residency program positions that are not filled in the first iteration are moved to the second iteration of the match. For the 2026 R-1 match, first iteration Match Day was March 3, 2026, and second iteration Match Day was April 21, 2026. Matched applicants will begin their residency training on July 1, 2026.
The R-1 match offers a nationally coordinated application and matching process, enabling medical graduates and physicians to apply to residency positions across Canada through a single platform. However, healthcare is managed by the provinces and each jurisdiction determines available residency positions and establishes its own eligibility criteria for those positions. These criteria can vary significantly due to factors such as local healthcare priorities, language requirements, and return-of-service obligations. Consequently, not all applicants are eligible for all residency programs as eligibility can differ from one province to another.
A total of 2,988 Canadian medical graduates (CMGs) were matched to residency programs this year, across both iterations. The number of unmatched current year CMGs after the second iteration of the match was 87 (2.9 per cent), an increase from 49 (1.6 per cent) in 2025. Additionally, 931 international medical graduates (IMGs) and 3 United States medical graduates (USMGs) matched to residency positions this year. The number of IMGs matched in 2026 has increased significantly from 851 in 2025 and 671 in 2024.
In total, there were 4,103 positions in the 2026 R-1 match. This total includes 74 particular stream positions, located in Quebec, that were added specifically for the second iteration and were open only to applicants who met specialized eligibility criteria.
Of the 4,029 positions initially offered in first iteration, 3,894 (96.6 per cent) were filled by the end of the two match iterations, as well as an additional 28 particular stream positions in second iteration, for a total of 3,922—the highest-ever number of positions filled. A total of 181 positions were unfilled after the match (135 positions offered in first iteration and 46 particular stream positions). Family Medicine positions accounted for 139 of the unfilled positions (119 positions offered in first iteration and 20 particular stream positions).
It is important to note that faculties of medicine can submit reversion instructions prior to the running of each iteration of the match to redistribute unfilled positions between programs, with the goal of maximizing the number of applicants matched. As a result, the number of residency positions and the programs they are allocated to going into the match may differ from what comes out, as position counts may be increased in some programs and decreased in others. Consequently, the final numbers reported in the match may vary slightly from the initial position counts due to this real-time adjustment to optimize the match process.
High-level match outcome data is now publicly available on carms.ca. More detailed match data and multi-year trends will be posted on carms.ca on May 5.
