Canadian residencies
Neurosurgery
21Spots for Canadian gradsFirst-round spots in the 2026 match for grads of Canadian med schools.Source: CaRMS
spots for Canadian grads
0.58Spots per first-choice applicantA comparison between specialties, not anyone’s odds.Source: CaRMS
spots per person who ranked it first
81%Applications that got an interview, 2025Source: CaRMS
of 2025 applications got an interview offer
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residency
Full breakdown
Compare two residenciesThe 2026 match
- Spots for Canadian grads
- 2121 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
- 0.580.58 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 math21 spots ÷ 0.58 = about 36 people ranked it first. That’s 1.7 people for every spot.Source: CaRMS
- Rank, 1 = hardest
- Tied 7 of 33Tied 7 of 33, 1 = hardestOur mathAll 33 match streams sorted by spots per person who ranked it first, lowest first. 2 streams share 0.58, so they share the rank.Source: CaRMS
- People who ranked it first
- About 36About 36 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 math21 spots ÷ 0.58 = 36. CaRMS rounds the ratio, so the real count is 36.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)
- 81%81% of applications got an interviewIn the 2025 match, Canadian grads sent 325 applications to neurosurgery programs and 263 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)
- 23 + 3Filled in each round, 2026First round: 23 of 24 spots filled. Second round: 3 of 4 filled, 1 left empty. All streams, including international grads.Source: CaRMS
- Ranked it first and had no residency after both rounds
- 4Ranked it first, no residencyCanadian grads only.Our math4 who took part in the second round and did not match + 0 who did not match in the first round and skipped the second = 4Source: CaRMS
CaRMS publishes the yearly first-choice share for the 10 most-ranked specialties only, so there is no trend here.
Billing by province, overhead and training
Canadian average billing is open: $643,660$643,660 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. The province-by-province billing, overhead and training details for neurosurgery unlock with your email.