Family medicine
In brief
Compare two residencies- 1,598 spots, the most in Canada. 26.4% of Canadian grads ranked it first, down from 30.7% in 2022.
- 1.96 spots per person who ranked it first.
- 139 spots still empty after both rounds: 129 in Quebec, 9 in Eastern Canada, 1 in Ontario and 0 in Western Canada.
- 2-year residency. In November 2023 the CFPC board voted to cease implementing a third year of family medicine residency. The minimum stays 24 months.
- Family doctors can add training in areas like emergency medicine or anesthesia through CFPC Certificates of Added Competence.
- Average billing $359,577 before expenses. Highest province Ontario $399,944, lowest Newfoundland and Labrador $256,962. Overhead 27% (2017).
Full breakdown
The 2026 match
- 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
- 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
- Empty after the first round (all streams)
- 255Empty after the first round, all streamsSource: CaRMS
- Empty after both rounds (all streams)
- 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
- Applications offered an interview (2025 match)
- 98%98% of applications got an interviewIn the 2025 match, Canadian grads sent 36,859 applications to family medicine programs and 36,265 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)
- 1,603 + 143Filled in each round, 2026First round: 1,603 of 1,858 spots filled. Second round: 143 of 282 filled, 139 left empty. All streams, including international grads.Source: CaRMS
- Ranked it first and had no residency after both rounds
- 5Ranked it first, no residencyCanadian grads only.Our math5 who took part in the second round and did not match + 0 who did not match in the first round and skipped the second = 5Source: CaRMS
Of the 139 empty spots: 129 in Quebec (20 of them in a particular stream), 9 in Eastern Canada, 1 in Ontario and 0 in Western Canada.Empty family medicine spots by regionSource: CaRMS
Ranked it first, by yearRanked it first, 2022 to 2026Source: CaRMS
Billing, 2024-25
Canadian average $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 before expenses. Not take-home pay. Highest province Ontario $399,944, lowest Newfoundland and Labrador $256,962.
- Canada$359,577
- British Columbia$351,556 -$8,021
- Alberta$359,180 -$397
- SaskatchewanNot available
- Manitoba$390,831 +$31,254
- Ontario$399,944 +$40,367
- Quebec$287,019 -$72,558
- New Brunswick*$278,554 -$81,023
- Nova Scotia$298,356 -$61,221
- Prince Edward Island*$316,244 -$43,333
- Newfoundland and Labrador*$256,962 -$102,615
- Yukon*$295,413 -$64,164
* 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 27%27% 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
2-year residency. Minimum residency length of 24 months.Residency lengthSource: CFPC
The CFPC offers Certificates of Added Competence in 8 areas, including emergency medicine and family practice anesthesia. The CFPC does not publish one training length for them.Source: CFPC
The most-ranked residency also had the most empty spots.