How hard is your residency to match?
0.41Dermatology, 2026 match30 spots for Canadian grads. The lowest of all 33 match streams.Source: CaRMS
dermatology spots per person who ranked it first, the hardest
1.96Family medicine, 2026 match1,598 spots for Canadian grads.Source: CaRMS
family medicine spots per person who ranked it first
$1.05MOphthalmology, 2024-25$1,050,563 average gross clinical payments per physician, before expenses. The highest of the specialties CIHI reports.Source: CIHI
ophthalmology, the highest average billing
139Empty after both roundsCounts every stream, not only Canadian grads.Source: CaRMS
family medicine spots still empty after both rounds
Pick a specialty, see where it stands
Compare two residenciesTop 7
Room to spareOur plain-English groupingUnder 0.60 very tough, under 1.00 tough, under 1.50 about even, 1.50 and up room to spare. Our words, based on CaRMS’s spots per person who ranked it first.Source: CaRMS1.96 spots for every Canadian grad who ranked it first.
Each tick is one of the 33 match streams in 2026, lined up hardest to easiest. Ranked it first counts people who put it first on their rank list.
- Spots for Canadian grads
- 1,5981,598 spots for Canadian gradsFirst-round spots in the 2026 match set aside for grads of Canadian med schools. International grads have their own stream.Source: CaRMS
- Spots per person who ranked it first
- 1.961.96 spots per person who ranked it first1.00 or more: at least one spot for every person who put it first. It compares specialties. It isn’t anyone’s odds, because people rank several programs and programs rank people.Our math1,598 spots ÷ 1.96 = about 815 people ranked it first.Source: CaRMS
- Rank, 1 = hardest of 33
- 27 of 3327 of 33, 1 = hardestOur mathAll 33 match streams sorted by spots per person who ranked it first, lowest first.Source: CaRMS
- People who ranked it first
- About 815About 815 ranked it firstCanadian grads who put it first on their rank list. CaRMS publishes the ratio, not the count, so this is our estimate.Our math1,598 spots ÷ 1.96 = 815. CaRMS rounds the ratio, so the real count is between 814 and 817.Source: CaRMS
- Still empty after both rounds
- 139139 spots still empty, 129 in Quebec129 of the 139 are in Quebec (20 of those in a particular stream), 9 in Eastern Canada, 1 in Ontario and 0 in Western Canada. Empty after the first round: 255. Still empty after the second round: 139. Counts every stream, including international grads, so it is a bigger pool than the Canadian-grad spots.Source: CaRMS
- Average billing, before expenses
- $359,577$359,577 average billing, 2024-25Average gross clinical payments per physician across Canada, before expenses like staff, rent and insurance. Not take-home pay. Every physician counts once, full time or not.Source: CIHI
Dig into the numbers
ChartHardest to easiestAll 33 match streams, ranked by spots per person who ranked it first.ToolWhat it bills where you’d practiseAverage billing by province, and the gap from Canada.ToolHow long until you’re done?Residency plus subspecialty, in years after med school.Table · Unlock with emailAll 33 side by sideEvery number for every specialty in one sortable table.
The 7 most-ranked residencies
The specialties Canadian grads put first most often in 2026. Each one opens its full breakdown.
01Family medicine1,598spots1.96per first choice98%interview offers*The most-ranked residency also had the most empty spots.Full breakdown 02Internal medicine516spots0.99per first choice64%interview offers*39 grads who ranked it first matched into family medicine in the first round, more than from any other specialty CaRMS lists.Full breakdown 03Psychiatry211spots1.00per first choice72%interview offers*Psychiatry and anesthesiology tied this year at 6.8% of first choices.Full breakdown 04Anesthesiology154spots0.73per first choice45%interview offers*It bills the most of the 7 residencies most often ranked first. Emergency medicine is not tracked separately.Full breakdown 05Emergency medicine100spots0.76per first choice51%interview offers*21 grads who ranked it first matched into family medicine in the first round, the other road into emergency work.Full breakdown 06Pediatrics153spots1.19per first choice71%interview offers*21 spots were empty after the first round. The second round filled all but 1.Full breakdown 07Obstetrics and gynecology100spots0.85per first choice62%interview offers*Its share of first choices is exactly where it was in 2022: 3.8%.Full breakdown
* Share of applications from Canadian grads that got an interview offer, 2025 match (2026 is not published yet). Spots and first choices are from the 2026 match.
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See all 33 side by side.
- Every specialty in one sortable table
- Billing in every province, for every specialty
- Full breakdowns for all 30 specialties
- Compare any two, not just the top 7