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2mo ago

Ontario Prioritizes First-Round IMG Residencies for Candidates With Ontario High School Ties

Opponents warn the rule will thin the pipeline of physicians to Northern and rural communities.

Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas in this file photo.
"When first announced as an election promise, the big primary care expansion sounded like wishful thinking," writes Randall Denley. "But the latest agreement between the government and the Ontario Medical Association gives real reason for optimism."
In mid-September, the city’s first nurse practitioner-led clinic opened on Montreal Road. In September, a provincially funded nurse practitioner-led clinic opened in Vanier. It will eventually provide care to up to 6,000 people in Vanier and Overbrook, which have an estimated 14,000 people without access to primary care.
The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) says the move will create a drastic reduction in the number of doctors training for family medicine, just when the province is desperate for more.

Overview

  • Under the change, only internationally educated applicants who completed at least two years of Ontario high school can compete in the first round of residency matching.
  • Health Minister Sylvia Jones’s office says the move supports Ontario-educated residents who earned medical degrees abroad and helps build the provincial workforce.
  • The Ontario Medical Association cautions the policy could deter internationally trained physicians and reduce the number entering family medicine in the province.
  • Physician advocates, including Dr. Chibere Ogbuneke, call the high-school requirement discriminatory and unrelated to medical competency.
  • Government figures highlight expanded training capacity and funding, noting 1,566 residency positions in 2025, a 31% increase from 2022, as municipalities such as Ottawa pursue separate doctor recruitment efforts.