Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Medicine is seen, in Brampton, Ont., in August.Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press
Ontario is limiting first-round applications for residency positions from international medical graduates to only those who completed at least two years of high school in the province before studying abroad.
The Ontario government announced the change on Wednesday, midway through the application period that ends on Nov. 27. International medical graduates, or IMGs, who did not attend an Ontario high school must now wait until the second round to apply for any unfilled positions.
Ema Popovic, spokeswoman for Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones, said in a Thursday statement that this change will support Ontario-educated residents.
“Our government is not only ensuring local postgraduate training opportunities, we are also continuing to build our health care work force to connect people in every corner of the province to convenient care,” she said.
IMGs are now required to submit their high school transcripts to apply in the first round.
The only exception to the new rule is IMGs who were unable to attend an Ontario secondary school because their parents or guardians were deployed or posted outside of the province as a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, Canadian diplomatic service or Department of Foreign Affairs.
Last October, Ontario announced it would reserve almost all of its medical school spots for provincial residents. Premier Doug Ford at the time suggested foreign-born students were “taking our kids’ seats and then not even staying here” – a comment his office later clarified was in reference to postgraduate seats or residencies.
Ontario to reserve majority of medical school spots for students from the province
The change to IMG eligibility comes one year after the provincial government said it wanted to reclassify Canadians who study medicine abroad but return to Ontario, designating them as a separate group from other international medical graduates.
The new eligibility requirements are facing scrutiny, especially as the province struggles to attract and retain doctors during a nationwide shortage.
Ranika Singh, founder of IMG Career Counselling, said the change is unfair and discriminatory, especially for applicants who have already invested time, effort and money – in some cases, thousands of dollars – to prepare for the first round this year.
“Introducing such a fundamental change midway through the application cycle undermines transparency, fairness and trust in Ontario’s residency selection process,” said Ms. Singh.
“IMGs have relied on previously published requirements when planning, budgeting, and, in many cases, relocating their families. This abrupt shift has placed many qualified candidates at a serious disadvantage and caused both financial and emotional hardship.”
IMG Career Counselling Founder Ranika Singh says the new eligibility requirements are unfair, especially for applicants who have already invested time, effort and money to prepare for the first round this year.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
She noted that all IMGs in Ontario-funded resident training positions must already sign a five-year return of service agreement, meaning they must work in the province for that time period. But Ms. Singh said many IMGs want to stay and practice in Ontario regardless of the contractual obligation.
She said several of her clients are now in shock or feeling lost. Ontario was a leader in welcoming IMGs, she added, but this change “feels like we’re just going backward.”
The Canadian Resident Matching Service, or CaRMS, the organization that pairs future doctors with practical training programs, said in a Thursday statement that the changes to eligibility “raise questions and concerns” for applicants.
The organization said it is unable to answer questions on the rationale behind the decision, but that it will support applicants and programs in navigating the changes.
CaRMS data show that in the last matching process, there were 3,942 residency spots in the first iteration, 367 of which were unfilled and left to the second round. Of the first-round matches, roughly 20 per cent went to IMGs.
Ms. Singh described the second round of residency applications as “leftover spots” where there are less opportunities for specialization and more competition. She said some of her clients, who no longer qualify for the first round, do not see the point in applying.
A snapshot of Canadian physicians in 2023 shows that 31 per cent of family medicine doctors, 25 per cent of medical specialists and 16 per cent of surgeons were trained internationally, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.