Applicants for Canadian permanent residence with experience as a medical doctor, physician, family physician, general practitioner or resident-in-training who wish to immigrate to Canada under the skilled worker rules are not required to provide evidence of licensing as a condition of admission to Canada. However once admitted to Canada, applicants intending to practice as medical practitioners in Canada must complete the MCCQE Part I examinations as well as a series of licensing requirements that are individually established by the provinces.
For eligibility to write the MCCQE Part I examinations the applicant must a) be registered for the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) or be entering postgraduate training in Canada under an agreement with a medical licensing authority or other arrangement, and b) hold a valid standing with the Medical Council of Canada’s Evaluating Examination (MCCEE).
The provinces generally require as a condition of admission to the licensing programs, that the applicant is a permanent resident or a Canadian citizen.
Postgraduate Medical Training
In most provinces, graduates of foreign medical schools are required to have two to six years of postgraduate medical training at a Canadian university and must pass the appropriate certification examinations of the College of Family Physicians of Canada or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. However, some provinces and territories have a form of licensure for under serviced areas.
Thirteen accredited Canadian postgraduate medical training programs participate in the Canadian Resident Matching Service. This service matches prospective physicians to a training program.
To register with the matching service, you must have passed the Evaluating Examination within five years prior to starting a residency. The results of the August and November Evaluating Examinations are available to CaRMs, and candidates to these sittings of the MCCEE may register with CaRMS. Unfortunately, registrants for the February MCCEE will not be able to register with CaRMS in the current year's match, as the results are not available before the match. For more information on the resident matching services, contact:
Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS)
2283 St. Laurent Boulevard, Suite 110
Ottawa, Ontario K1G 5A2
Canada
Tel.: (613) 237-0075 or 1-800-291-3727
Fax: (613) 563-2860
Email: carmsmail@carms.ca
http://www.carms.ca/
Some provinces have pre-residency training for permanent residents of the province who are graduates of foreign medical schools. The contents and length of the program varies in these provinces. For specific details, contact the provincial/territorial licensing authority.
Information on assessment of qualifications
Additional information, suggested textbooks, materials and where to purchase previous sample tests can be found at the Medical Council of Canada website at: www.mca.ca .
Other relevant information
[Alberta] College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA)
900 Manulife Place, 10180-101 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4P8
Canada
Tel.: (403) 423-4764 or 1-800-561-3899
Fax: (403) 420-0651
Email: rburns@cpsa.ab.ca
http://www.cpsa.ab.ca
[British Columbia] College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (CPSBC)
1807 West 10th Avenue
Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 2A9
Canada
Tel.: (604) 733-7758 or 1-800-461-3008
Fax: (604) 733-3503
Email: questions@cpsbc.ca
http://www.cpsbc.bc.ca/
[Manitoba] College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM)
494 St. James Street, Suite 1410
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3G 3J4
Canada
Tel.: (204) 774-4344
Fax: (204) 774-0750
http://www.umanitoba.ca/colleges/cps/
[New Brunswick] College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick (CPSNB)
One Hampton Road, Suite 300
Rothesay, New Brunswick E2E 5K8
Canada
Tel.: (506) 849-5050 or 1-800-667-4641
Fax: (506) 849-5069
Email: cpsnb@netcity.ca
http://www.cpsnb.org/
[Newfoundland] Newfoundland Medical Board (NMB)
139 Water Street, Unit 6
St. John's, Newfoundland A1C 1B2
Canada
Tel.: (709) 726-8546
Fax: (709) 726-4725
Email: nmb@thezone.net
[Northwest Territories] Department of Health and Social Services, NWT
P.O. Box 1320
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories X1A 2L9
Canada
Tel.: (867) 920-8058
Fax: (867) 873-0484
http://www.hlthss.gov.nt.ca/
[Nova Scotia] College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia (CPSNS)
Sentry Place, Suite 200
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 2G1
Canada
Tel.: (902) 422-5823 or 1-877- 282 7767
Fax: (902) 422-5035
Email: brucethorne@cpsns.ns.ca
http://www.cpsns.ns.ca/
[Ontario] College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO)
80 College Street
Toronto, Ontario M5G 2E2
Canada
Tel.: (416) 967-2603 or 1-800-268-7096
Email: feedback@cpso.on.ca
http://www.cpso.on.ca/
[Prince Edward Island] College of Physicians and Surgeons of Prince Edward Island (CPSPEI)
199 Grafton St.
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island C1A 1L2
Canada
Tel.: (902) 566-3861
Fax: (902) 566-3861
[Québec] Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ)
2170, boul. René-Lévesque Ouest
Montréal, Québec H3H 2T8
Canada
Tel.: (514) 933-4441 or 1-888-633-3246
Fax: (514) 933-3112
Email: info@cmq.org
http://www.cmq.org/
[Saskatchewan] College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan (CPSS)
211-Fourth Ave South
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 1N1
Canada
Tel.: (306) 244-7355
Fax: (306) 244-2600
Email: cpss@quadrant.net
http://www.quadrant.net/cpss/
[Yukon] Yukon Medical Council
P.O. Box 2703
Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 2C6
Canada
Tel.: (867) 667-5111
Fax: (867) 667-3609
