1) Canada simply does not have enough medical schools to train the number of physicians it needs.

Compared to several other countries, Canada ranks low in the number of medical schools per million population:

• Canada, population 41.7 million, has 18 medical schools (.43 medical schools/million)

• USA, population 374.3 million, has 213 medical schools (.61 medical schools/million)

• United Kingdom, population 69.6 million, has 66 medical schools (.95 medical schools/million)

• Australia, population 27.2 million, has 34 medical schools (1.25 medical schools/million)

2) The 2023 Report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that Canada ranked 36th out of 39 countries for medical graduates per 100,000 population:

• Canada has 7.5 medical graduates per 100,000 population

• USA has 8.5 medical graduates per 100,000 population

• UK has 13.1 medical graduates per 100,000 population

• Australia has 15.4 medical graduates per 100,000 population

3) Canada has a very high number of applicants per medical school: Canada has 5.65 applicants per medical school seat; US has 2.38 applicants per medical school seat; UK has 3 applicants per medical school seat; and Australia has 3.65 applicants per medical school seat.

4) Successful applicants to Canadian medical schools require some of the highest GPAs in North America. For example, the University of Toronto requires a GPA of 3.94; McGill University requires a GPA of 3.9; McMaster University requires a GPA of 3.88; and Queen’s University requires a GPA of 3.81.

5) Canadians who do not win a spot in a Canadian medical school frequently go abroad to study. The most common destinations are Australia, the Caribbean, Ireland, and the United States.

6) But to become licensed, in addition to a medical degree, a physician needs a Residency:

• In Canada, residencies are funded by the provincial governments, so approximately 90% of residencies are reserved for graduates of Canadian medical schools.

• Unfortunately, Canadians completing medical degrees overseas are considered International Medical Graduates (IMGs) and are therefore eligible for only a small number (i.e., 10%) of Canadian residency positions.

• Medical schools in Ireland and the Caribbean do not offer residencies to foreign medical graduates.

• The USA and Australia offer residencies to Canadians. But there is a risk Canadians may not return to Canada to practice.

7) Although Canada has built/is building four new medical schools (Toronto Metropolitan University in Ontario opened in 2025; Simon Fraser University Medical School in British Columbia opening 2026; Faculty of Medicine-University of Prince Edward Island opening in 2026; and York University School of Medicine in Ontario opening 2028), in the short term and long-term Canada will likely still rely on IMGs.

8) Currently, 27% of all Canadian physicians are IMGs. (Specifically, 31% of Family Physicians and 23% of Specialists are IMGs).

While the Canadian press often reports that there are barriers to licensing IMGs, ease of licensing depends largely on where the physician completed his/her medical training and residency. There are two routes:

a) The easier route is for physicians who are on the “Approved Jurisdiction” list. “Approved Jurisdictions” are countries in which the medical training/credentials have been deemed equivalent to that of Canada. They are:

• Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) Approved Jurisdictions: United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, and Switzerland; the USA is a special case.

• College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) Approved Jurisdictions: USA, UK, Ireland, Australia

b) The second route to become eligible to apply for a Canadian medical license: physicians trained in countries not on the list of “Approved Jurisdictions” must first practice in Canada under supervised conditions following which they write an exam.

On a practical level, even for physicians from Approved Jurisdictions, the licensing application and document requirements are lengthy and specific. Frequently, physicians don’t have the time, or patience to check every detail of an application. We at Helen Ziegler & Associates ask our physician candidates to send their application and supporting documents to us before, they submit their file to the licensing authority. This ensures that the application and paperwork are complete and perfect the first time it is submitted.

We make it easy for the physician.