Residents
Resident salaries

What a resident earns, and what the mortgage program qualifies you on.

Every provincial resident salary grid, read from the signed agreements, next to the projected income a physician program uses instead. Then the question the qualification never answers: can you carry the payment on the salary you actually take home?

Grids reviewed
August 25, 2026
Provinces covered
8 grids, 10 provinces
Page updated
August 2026
Direct answer

A first-year resident in Canada earns between $58,728 (Quebec) and $78,578 (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI) in base salary; Ontario pays $73,367. A physician mortgage program ignores that number and qualifies a PGY-1 or PGY-2 on $185,000, and a PGY-3 or later on $225,000. That is 2.4 to 3.2 times the paycheque, which is why the maximum you qualify for is rarely the amount you should borrow during training.

Your province, your year

Qualifying versus carrying.

Pick where you train and your year. The left number is what the agreement pays you. The right side is what the program qualifies you for, and what that mortgage would take out of your real pay.

Year of training
$200,000
Down payment
4.49%
What the agreement pays a PGY-3 in Ontario
$85,564
PARO, effective July 1, 2025. Agreement past its term, figures continue until a new deal.
Purchase price the program qualifies you for
$949,620
Qualified on $225,000 of projected income, 2.6 times your salary
Student debt counted (5.25% over 15 yrs)$1,602/mo
Qualifying rate (stress test)6.49%
Payment at 4.49%$4,919/mo
Share of your gross resident pay69%
House-poor on a resident paycheque
Over 40% of gross pay before tax. The ratios say yes, your bank account will say otherwise until you finish training.
Ratios 39% GDS and 44% TDS on projected income, property tax 0.75% of price, heating $100 a month, program insurance tiers, 25-year amortization insured or 30 uninsured. Illustration only. Partner income, credit and the lender’s own criteria change the result.
How projected income works, with the full specialty chartFull affordability calculator
Every grid

Resident base salary by province and year.

Annual base salary in dollars, straight from each signed agreement. Blank cells are levels the agreement does not publish. Call stipends, practice stipends and benefits are on top of these figures.

ProvincePGY-1PGY-2PGY-3PGY-4PGY-5PGY-6PGY-7PGY-8PGY-9EffectiveAgreement
OntarioPast term$73,367$79,670$85,564$92,701$98,567$104,167$109,250$115,826$120,082July 1, 2025July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026
British Columbia$69,311$77,253$84,131$90,515$97,296$103,838$110,621April 1, 20262025 to 2029
Alberta$67,440$74,153$80,058$86,281$92,698$98,414$105,819$110,784July 1, 2026July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2028
SaskatchewanPast term$68,329$74,518$80,700$86,858$92,968$99,065$105,212$111,359January 1, 2025January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025
Manitoba$72,171$77,416$83,372$89,329$95,285$101,119$109,017$117,531July 1, 2026July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027
Quebec$58,728$64,809$70,890$76,969$83,050$89,131$89,131$89,131April 1, 20262021 to 2028
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI$78,578$83,904$89,462$95,485$101,926$108,066$115,377July 1, 2026July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027
Newfoundland and LabradorPast term$69,175$74,779$79,848$85,137$90,868$96,998July 1, 2023Signed August 10, 2022, expired June 30, 2024
Newfoundland and Labrador also publishes a Fellow rate of $102,842. Quebec pays R6, R7 and R8 the same. Alberta labels levels Pay Level 1 to 8 and British Columbia Resident I to VII; both map to PGY year here.
The gap

Paycheque versus qualifying income.

The program qualifies a PGY-1 or PGY-2 on $185,000 and a PGY-3 or later on $225,000, in every province. The multiple is how far the qualification runs ahead of the money that actually lands in your account.

ProvincePGY-1 salaryQualifies onMultiplePGY-3 salaryQualifies onMultiple
Ontario$73,367$185,0002.5x$85,564$225,0002.6x
British Columbia$69,311$185,0002.7x$84,131$225,0002.7x
Alberta$67,440$185,0002.7x$80,058$225,0002.8x
Saskatchewan$68,329$185,0002.7x$80,700$225,0002.8x
Manitoba$72,171$185,0002.6x$83,372$225,0002.7x
Quebec$58,728$185,0003.2x$70,890$225,0003.2x
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI$78,578$185,0002.4x$89,462$225,0002.5x
Newfoundland and Labrador$69,175$185,0002.7x$79,848$225,0002.8x
Watch list

Grids running past their agreement.

These figures stay in force until a new agreement lands, then jump. If you are qualifying in one of these provinces, the salary on your letter may be about to change.

Expired 2026
Ontario
The agreement expired June 30, 2026. PARO states its terms, including salary, stay in effect until a new agreement is reached. No 2026 grid had been published when this table was reviewed.
Expired 2025
Saskatchewan
Settled by interest arbitration in February 2026, but the term ended December 31, 2025. A new round is pending.
Expired 2024
Newfoundland and Labrador
The most out-of-date grid in Canada. No newer agreement is listed by the province. Treat these figures as a floor.
Questions

Straight answers.

How much does a first-year medical resident make in Canada?
Between roughly $58,700 and $78,600 a year in base salary, depending on the province. Quebec pays the least at $58,728 (April 2026 grid), the Maritime provinces the most at $78,578 (July 2026 grid), and Ontario sits at $73,367 under the PARO grid effective July 1, 2025. Call stipends and other premiums are extra.
Does a lender use my resident salary to qualify me for a mortgage?
Not under a physician program. The program uses projected income instead: $185,000 for PGY-1 and PGY-2, $225,000 from PGY-3, and a specialty figure in the final year. Your actual salary is verified, and the projected figure applies only when it is higher than what you actually earn, which is always the case during residency.
If I qualify on $225,000, can I actually afford the payment on a resident salary?
That is the right question. Qualifying and affording are different tests. The lender checks ratios against the projected income; your bank account checks the payment against your real paycheque. A PGY-3 in Ontario earning $85,564 who buys at the top of the qualification range would be putting close to half of gross pay into the mortgage, before tax. Most residents who buy sensibly land well below the maximum.
Which provinces are paying residents on an expired agreement?
As of August 2026: Newfoundland and Labrador (agreement expired June 30, 2024, no replacement published), Ontario (expired June 30, 2026, terms continue until a new deal), and Saskatchewan (term ended December 31, 2025, settled by arbitration in early 2026). British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec and the Maritimes have agreements running to 2027 or later.
Why do the numbers here differ from CaRMS?
They mostly do not. CaRMS republishes the same grids, but its "updated" stamp is the date CaRMS edited its page, not the date the salary took effect, and one Manitoba figure is off by ten cents. This table cites the signed agreement or the resident association payroll page for every province and shows the true effective date.
Sources

Where every number comes from.

One source per province, read on August 25, 2026. CaRMS republishes these grids with its own edit dates; the agreements are the record.

Ontario: PARO
PARO-OTH arbitration decision, September 24, 2024. Effective July 1, 2025. Term July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026.
The agreement expired June 30, 2026. PARO states its terms, including salary, stay in effect until a new agreement is reached. No 2026 grid had been published when this table was reviewed.
British Columbia: Resident Doctors of BC
Resident Doctors of BC payroll page. Effective April 1, 2026. Term 2025 to 2029.
Salary steps up each April for the term of the agreement.
Alberta: PARA
PARA 2024-2028 agreement, article 35.03. Effective July 1, 2026. Term July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2028.
The July 1, 2027 column is already published: $68,789 to $113,000.
Saskatchewan: Resident Doctors of Saskatchewan
RDoS 2023-2025 agreement, article 8.1. Effective January 1, 2025. Term January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025.
Settled by interest arbitration in February 2026, but the term ended December 31, 2025. A new round is pending.
Manitoba: PARIM
PARIM 2024-2027 collective agreement, schedule 1. Effective July 1, 2026. Term July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027.
Quebec: FMRQ
Entente FMRQ-MSSS 2021-2028, annexe I. Effective April 1, 2026. Term 2021 to 2028.
R6, R7 and R8 are paid the same. The April 1, 2027 column is already published: $60,783 to $92,251.
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI: Maritime Resident Doctors
Maritime Resident Doctors 2024-2027 agreement, schedule A. Effective July 1, 2026. Term July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027.
One grid covers all three provinces. The PGY-8 cell is blank in the signed agreement for the current years.
Newfoundland and Labrador: PARNL
PARNL agreement, schedule A (NL Treasury Board). Effective July 1, 2023. Term Signed August 10, 2022, expired June 30, 2024.
The most out-of-date grid in Canada. No newer agreement is listed by the province. Treat these figures as a floor.
Projected income figures
From the physician projected-income program factsheet, September 2023 edition. Schedule, specialty chart and rules on the projected income page.

Prices and payment examples are estimates for planning only. Your actual numbers depend on income, down payment, debt, credit, location, and current lender pricing.

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