Anesthesiology
In brief
Compare two residencies- 154 spots, 6.8% ranked it first. 0.73 spots per person who ranked it first.
- 21 grads who ranked it first had no residency after both rounds, tied with plastic surgery for the most.
- 5-year residency. Then pain medicine, critical care, palliative medicine and more, planned as 2 years each.
- Family doctors can add anesthesia through a CFPC Certificate of Added Competence.
- Average billing $529,774 before expenses. Highest province Ontario $597,722, lowest Nova Scotia $362,788. Overhead 13% (2017).
Full breakdown
The 2026 match
- Spots for Canadian grads
- 154154 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
- 0.730.73 spots per person who ranked it firstUnder 1.00: more people put it first than there were spots. It compares specialties. It isn’t anyone’s odds, because people rank several programs and programs rank people.Our math154 spots ÷ 0.73 = about 211 people ranked it first. That’s 1.4 people for every spot.Source: CaRMS
- Rank, 1 = hardest
- Tied 12 of 33Tied 12 of 33, 1 = hardestOur mathAll 33 match streams sorted by spots per person who ranked it first, lowest first. 2 streams share 0.73, so they share the rank.Source: CaRMS
- People who ranked it first
- About 211About 211 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 math154 spots ÷ 0.73 = 211. CaRMS rounds the ratio, so the real count is between 210 and 212.Source: CaRMS
- Empty after the first round (all streams)
- 1Empty after the first round, all streamsSource: CaRMS
- Empty after both rounds (all streams)
- 11 spots still emptyEmpty after the first round: 1. Still empty after the second round: 1. Counts every stream, including international grads, so it is a bigger pool than the Canadian-grad spots.Source: CaRMS
- Applications offered an interview (2025 match)
- 45%45% of applications got an interviewIn the 2025 match, Canadian grads sent 2,696 applications to anesthesiology programs and 1,204 got an interview offer. Counts applications, not people: one person usually applies to several programs. 2026 is not published yet.Source: CaRMS
- Filled in round 1 + round 2 (all streams)
- 167 + 1Filled in each round, 2026First round: 167 of 168 spots filled. Second round: 1 of 2 filled, 1 left empty. All streams, including international grads.Source: CaRMS
- Ranked it first and had no residency after both rounds
- 21Ranked it first, no residencyCanadian grads only. The highest of any stream this year.Our math18 who took part in the second round and did not match + 3 who did not match in the first round and skipped the second = 21Source: CaRMS
- Ranked it first, matched to family medicine (first round)
- 25Matched to family medicine insteadSource: CaRMS
Ranked it first, by yearRanked it first, 2022 to 2026Source: CaRMS
Billing, 2024-25
Canadian average $529,774$529,774 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 before expenses. Not take-home pay. Highest province Ontario $597,722, lowest Nova Scotia $362,788.
- Canada$529,774
- British Columbia$490,361 -$39,413
- Alberta$474,846 -$54,928
- SaskatchewanNot available
- Manitoba$418,347 -$111,427
- Ontario$597,722 +$67,948
- Quebec$480,582 -$49,192
- New Brunswick*$393,262 -$136,512
- Nova Scotia$362,788 -$166,986
- Prince Edward Island*$478,383 -$51,391
- Newfoundland and Labrador*$391,566 -$138,208
- Yukon*Hidden
* A small number of doctors can swing this. Hidden: CIHI suppresses groups too small to keep anonymous. Not available: CIHI marks it n/a. Neither is zero. Gap shown against Canada.Source: CIHI
Overhead 13%13% overhead, 2017Average overhead doctors in this specialty reported for running their practice, in the CMA’s 2017 survey. Old, so we never subtract it from 2024-25 billing.Source: CMA, reported in 2017. A dated survey figure, so we do not subtract it from 2024-25 billing.
Training
5-year residency. Planned as a 5-year residency.Residency lengthSource: Royal College
| Pain medicine | Planned as 2 years. Up to 1 year can be done during your residency..Pain medicineSource: Royal CollegeAfter medical school: 6 to 7 years. |
|---|---|
| Adult palliative medicine | Planned as 2 years. Up to 1 year can be done in the fourth or final year of anesthesiology..Adult palliative medicineSource: Royal CollegeAfter medical school: 6 to 7 years. |
| Adult critical care medicine | Planned as 2 years.Adult critical care medicineSource: Royal College |
| Pediatric critical care medicine | Planned as 2 years.Pediatric critical care medicineSource: Royal College |
| Clinical pharmacology and toxicology | Planned as 2 years.Clinical pharmacology and toxicologySource: Royal College |
Family doctors can add anesthesia through the CFPC Certificate of Added Competence in family practice anesthesia.Source: CFPC
It bills the most of the 7 residencies most often ranked first. Emergency medicine is not tracked separately.