Internationally trained physicians in Ontario say they feel blindsided and unwelcome after the Progressive Conservative government introduced new restrictions limiting their ability to compete for medical residency positions.
Dr. Ali Amiri, who volunteers as a facilitator with an online study group run by Catholic Community Services of York Region (CCSYR), says many IMGs are devastated. Despite years of preparing to practise in Canada, they now face new barriers at a time when the province is struggling with a doctor shortage.
Amiri previously worked as a general practitioner in rural Iran, completed doctoral studies in Europe, and even received a research job offer from Johns Hopkins. He chose instead to immigrate to Toronto and pursue a residency — only to learn this fall that Ontario’s rules have shifted against international graduates.
Under the new policy, only applicants who attended an Ontario high school for at least two years will be eligible for the first round of the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). Amiri says that Ontario’s decision, combined with similar restrictions recently announced in Alberta and B.C., has reduced the number of residency spots available to IMGs nationwide from 468 to just 61.
“A lot of us are still in shock,” he said at CCSYR’s High Tech Road office in Richmond Hill. “We can serve Canadian patients. We can help.”
Amiri supports hundreds of IMGs through CCSYR’s four-times-a-week online study group, but says morale has plummeted. Many foreign-trained doctors pass their exams and still find no path into residency. Some attempt to complete “residency of practice” requirements in their home countries, but war, financial hardship, or safety issues often make that impossible.
One of Amiri’s colleagues, a Canadian citizen who has tried for four years to practise here, recently gave up and moved to the U.K. “His family is here. He loves it here,” Amiri said.
Amiri himself remains determined to stay, but is unsure what comes next. IMGs may have another chance during the second round of CaRMS in March, where they can compete for leftover positions — though spots in many specialties remain extremely limited. “We have physicians driving Uber just to survive,” said Amiri, who currently works as a post-doctoral researcher with the University Health Network.
The Ontario government has given no indication that it plans to reverse the policy. In a Nov. 28 statement, Ema Popovic, spokesperson for Health Minister Sylvia Jones, argued the change will help create a “strong pipeline of Ontario-trained doctors,” noting that medical residents usually remain in the communities where they train. The province plans to increase residency seats by 47 per cent by 2028, reaching 1,739 spots, more than half reserved for family medicine. Officials also say there will be more opportunities for Ontarians who studied medicine abroad.
Ontario’s Opposition NDP and the Ontario Medical Association have condemned the move, warning it will worsen shortages in rural and northern communities that have long relied on IMGs. “Ontarians don’t care where their doctor went to high school,” said NDP critic Dr. Robin Lennox. “They care that their doctor is skilled and compassionate.”
CCSYR has supported IMGs since 2010, when only a dozen participants attended its early sessions. When HealthForceOntario stopped sending facilitators, successful graduates stepped in as volunteers. During the pandemic, the program moved online and now includes 400 participants. Doctors travel to Richmond Hill for in-person physical exam training, with some — like P.E.I. physician Dr. Guillermo Villegas Molero — returning at their own expense to mentor the next cohort.
CCSYR staff say the situation highlights the need for a fair, uniform, nationwide system for evaluating internationally trained doctors. “Six million Canadians don’t have a family doctor,” said Adelina Bridi, the agency’s director of programs and services. “We have physicians ready to work in rural areas. As a nation, we need a better plan.”
