Ontario is moving to embed new rules in law that prioritise medical residency positions for applicants with a connection to the province, including international medical graduates, as part of efforts to retain and attract doctors.
According to the Ontario government, the proposed legislation follows the withdrawal of a similar policy earlier, with authorities now choosing to formalise the rule through law. As reported by CBC News, officials said the move aims to give preference to candidates who have lived, studied or have established ties in Ontario.
New eligibility criteria for international graduates
Under the proposed system, international medical graduates applying in the first round of residency matching will need to demonstrate a connection to Ontario. As per CBC News report, this includes having studied at a high school in the province for at least two years, attending an Ontario university in person for at least two years, or living in the province for at least 24 weeks in the year before applying.
The residency matching process operates in two rounds. The new rule creates a dedicated first-round stream for candidates meeting these criteria, effectively prioritising them over other international applicants.
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Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the policy is aimed at supporting residents with ties to the province, including those who left Canada to pursue medical education abroad and want to return.
“We've fine tuned the program a bit ... brought it in line with three other Canadian jurisdictions, provinces,” she said.
“We strengthened the definition, made it more consistent with what other provinces have been doing for a number of years. And by putting it into legislation as opposed to policy, it's now very clear that this is the government's direction, as opposed to a suggestion.”
According to the Ontario government, the proposed legislation follows the withdrawal of a similar policy earlier, with authorities now choosing to formalise the rule through law. As reported by CBC News, officials said the move aims to give preference to candidates who have lived, studied or have established ties in Ontario.
New eligibility criteria for international graduates
Under the proposed system, international medical graduates applying in the first round of residency matching will need to demonstrate a connection to Ontario. As per CBC News report, this includes having studied at a high school in the province for at least two years, attending an Ontario university in person for at least two years, or living in the province for at least 24 weeks in the year before applying.The residency matching process operates in two rounds. The new rule creates a dedicated first-round stream for candidates meeting these criteria, effectively prioritising them over other international applicants.
(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates)
Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the policy is aimed at supporting residents with ties to the province, including those who left Canada to pursue medical education abroad and want to return.
“We've fine tuned the program a bit ... brought it in line with three other Canadian jurisdictions, provinces,” she said.
“We strengthened the definition, made it more consistent with what other provinces have been doing for a number of years. And by putting it into legislation as opposed to policy, it's now very clear that this is the government's direction, as opposed to a suggestion.”
