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Halifax - Orthopedic Surgery

Dalhousie UniversityHalifax, Nova ScotiaCMG stream

At a glance

Approx. quota
2 positions
Length
5 years
Applications per year
51–200
Offered interviews
26–50%

CMG stream · open to Canadian medical graduates

Interviews

1 date, 19 Jan 2027virtual

Halifax, 6 teaching sites

Program website(opens in a new tab)CANPREPP profile(opens in a new tab)CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab)

What stands out about this program

  • Three-month PGY4 elective period that can be done nationally or internationally.

    From “Program curriculum” on the CaRMS page

  • Dalhousie's five-year orthopaedic surgery residency trains mainly at the Halifax Infirmary within the QEII Health Sciences Centre, with paediatric rotations at the IWK Hospital for Children.
  • PGY3 includes a required 12-week community rotation at Saint John Regional Hospital, for which housing is arranged.
  • A 4-week research rotation in PGY2 is mandatory, and PGY4 includes a three-month elective period.

The summary is written by CdnMD from the program’s CaRMS description.

What training looks like

Setting
  • Academic / tertiary hospital
  • Regional community
Rural exposure
Not stated on CaRMS page
Research
Required · research project · protected time
Getting around
  • Housing away from the home site is provided or paid for

By year

PGY-1
  • Adult Orthopaedics28 - 32 Weeks
  • Paediatric Orthopaedics8 - 12 Weeks
  • Foundational Experiences Rotation4 Weeks
PGY-2
  • Adult Orthopaedics32 Weeks
  • ICU8 Weeks
  • Vascular Surgery8 Weeks
  • Research4 Weeks
PGY-3
  • community Orthopaedic rotationSaint John, New Brunswickthree-month
PGY-4
  • elective periodthree-month

Other rotations

Listed by the program without a single PGY year.

  • Community Orthopaedics (PGY3, PGY4 & PGY5)
  • Paediatric Orthopaedics (PGY3, PGY4 & PGY5)
  • Spine (PGY3, PGY4 & PGY5)
  • Trauma (PGY3, PGY4 & PGY5)
  • Sports (PGY3, PGY4 & PGY5)
  • Arthroplasty (PGY3, PGY4 & PGY5)
  • Tumor (PGY3, PGY4 & PGY5)
  • Upper Extremity (PGY3, PGY4 & PGY5)
  • Foot and Ankle (PGY3, PGY4 & PGY5)

✓ = the CaRMS page states it; – = not stated. From the program description and its rotation list.

Where you train

Halifax, Nova Scotia: 6 teaching sites.

  • Halifax Infirmary Hospital within the Queen Elizabeth II Health Science Centre
  • IWK Hospital for Children
  • Hants Community Hospital (Windsor)
  • Scotia Surgery (Dartmouth)
  • Dartmouth General Hospital (Dartmouth)
  • Saint John Regional Hospital (Saint John · rural or distributed site)

Record systems at the listed sites: Oracle Health (Cerner) at 3 of 6; no published record for 3.

Hospital facts

5 sites · public figures and clinical record systems where they are published

Public figures for hospitals named above, each with its source and reference period. They describe the hospital, not the program. We match names to the sources by name, so check each source before you rely on it.

Clinical record
One Person One Record, fully electronic record since May 2026 As of 31 Oct 2026. At Halifax Infirmary Hospital within the Queen Elizabeth II Health Science Centre, Dartmouth General Hospital.

How to read the figures

  • Hospital type. As the province lists it. The list has no volumes or beds.

Halifax Infirmary Hospital within the Queen Elizabeth II Health Science Centre

Matched to QEII - Halifax Infirmary Site (Halifax) in the province’s hospital list.

Hospital type
Tertiary

IWK Hospital for Children

Clinical record
Oracle Health (One Person One Record), fully electronic record since Dec 2025 As of 31 Oct 2026

Matched to IWK Health Centre (Halifax) in the province’s hospital list.

Hospital type
Tertiary

Hants Community Hospital

Matched to Hants Community Hospital (Windsor) in the province’s hospital list.

Hospital type
Community
Show facts for 2 more sites

Dartmouth General Hospital

Matched to Dartmouth General Hospital (Dartmouth) in the province’s hospital list.

Hospital type
Regional

Saint John Regional Hospital

Matched to Saint John Regional Hospital / Hôpital Régional de Saint John (Saint John) in the province’s hospital list.

Inpatient beds
445 As listed in the province’s dataset, whose rows were last updated 24 Apr 2019; the count may be older.

Nova Scotia's One Person One Record is live at IWK Health and at Nova Scotia Health's Central Zone. The other zones follow, provincewide by the end of 2026 (the province's date). As of 31 Oct 2026

Verify with the official source: each source button opens the publisher’s own page.

Sources and licences

  • Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – New Brunswick.
  • Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Nova Scotia.

About Halifax

  • People

    439,819residents, 2021 Census

    Municipality of Halifax

  • Housing

    2.6%rental vacancy rate

    October 2025 survey, Halifax, Nova Scotia (census metropolitan area)

  • Winter and summer

    −4.1 °CJanuary mean18.5 °CJuly mean

    1991–2020 normals, Shearwater, 11.0 km away

  • Job outlook

    Very goodfor the specialty here, 2025–2027

More about Halifax (its page: housing, getting around, weather, things to do, and every program that names it)

Sites as the program’s CaRMS page lists them. City figures are public statistics for the place named by the location; they describe the place, not the program.

How they choose

Application file components
  • CV
  • Electives
  • Examinations
  • Extra-curricular
  • Leadership skills
  • MSPRs
  • Personal letters
  • Reference documents
  • Research/Publications
  • Transcripts
Return of service
Not stated on CaRMS page. Check the provincial return-of-service rules.

Application file components as the program describes them.

Interviews and info sessions

Interview dates (2027 match)
19 Jan 2027
Format
Virtual
  • Traditional (one on one/two on one)
  • Panel

Info sessions

None listed on the program’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab) (read 20 Oct 2026) or on CANPREPP’s events calendar (read 24 Oct 2026). Programs add sessions through the fall.

5 Orthopedic Surgery info sessions at other programsAll info sessions

Pay and call

Provincial scale, last updated 24 Jul 2026 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab). One provincial scale for Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, set by the resident agreement, so every program there pays the same. Showing the 5 levels this program covers.

Annual salary by PGY level, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island
LevelAnnual salary
PGY-1
$78,578 / year
PGY-2
$83,904 / year
PGY-3
$89,462 / year
PGY-4
$95,485 / year
PGY-5
$101,926 / year

How provincial pay and rent compare

Call

Call (provincial max)
1 night in 4 in-house
Post-call rule (provincial)
No work required once handover is completed
Max continuous duty (provincial)
Handover begins by the 24th consecutive hour on duty

The union agreement’s limits and rules for all residents in the province; your program’s actual call schedule may be lighter. MarDocs agreement, 1 Jul 2024 to 30 Jun 2027. Read as of 1 Oct 2026.

Benefits

13 lines as listed by CaRMS in 2022–2024: Annual vacation, Call stipend, CMPA dues paid, and more
Annual vacation
4 weeks
Call stipend
Yes
CMPA dues paid
Yes
Dental coverage
Yes
Educational leave
Yes
Extended health insurance
Yes
Life insurance
$100,000 of insurance
Long-term disabilityinsurance
66.7% of salary
Maternity leave top up after one year’s service
eligible for up to a maximum of 17 weeks top-up allowance for maternity/pregnancy leave
Provincial dues (% of salary)
1.30%
Provincial health insurance
Yes
Sick leave
Yes
Statutory and floating holidays
paid

Past matches

No repeated vacancies in CaRMS’s lists of open positions, 2019–2026.

Positions at this site, all streams.

What this means

  • A position can go unfilled because of where the site is, because it is open to IMGs only or to another restricted stream, or because the quota changed late.
  • It says nothing about the quality of the training or how heavy the workload is.
  • A site’s numbers are shown when it had positions open after round 1 in at least 2 of 8 years or at least 3 in one year.

Source: CaRMS’s lists of positions open after round 1 and after round 2, as read in October 2026 (latest: 2026 round 1 (CaRMS PDF, opens in a new tab), 2026 round 2 (CaRMS PDF, opens in a new tab)).

Year by year

2027 match

The 2027 match, one row per stream (scrolls sideways on narrow screens)
StreamPositionsLengthInterviewsWhat changed
CMG stream25 years1 date, 19 Jan 2027VirtualNothing noted

2026 match

The 2026 match, one row per stream (scrolls sideways on narrow screens)
StreamPositionsLengthInterviews
CMG stream25 years1 date, 20 Jan 2026
The 2026 page of the CMG stream: our summary of its CaRMS description
  • The Dalhousie Orthopedic Training Program is a comprehensive 5-year residency that provides extensive clinical exposure in all areas of orthopedic surgery.
  • The program emphasizes not just surgical skills, but holistic physician development through a robust academic curriculum and focus on CanMEDS roles.
Research
Mandatory 4-week research rotation in PGY2, with potential for additional 8 weeks of research time, and encouragement to participate in departmental/university research.
Training setting
Training primarily occurs at Halifax Infirmary Hospital within the Queen Elizabeth II Health Science Centre, with additional sites including IWK Hospital for Children and Saint John Regional Hospital.
Teaching approach
Competency-Based Medical Education focusing on CanMEDS roles, emphasizing development of medical experts who are also strong leaders, communicators, collaborators, and health advocates.
Enhanced skills
Not stated on CaRMS page
What the program looked at
  • CV
  • Elective clinical evaluations
  • Extra-curricular activities
  • Leadership skills
  • Medical Student Performance Record (MSPR)
  • Personal letter
  • Reference documents
  • Research/Publications
  • Academic transcripts

Positions, length and interviews as each match’s CaRMS pages stated them; what changed from our comparison of the two matches and our readings of the 2027 pages.

Contacts and links

Program directors

CaRMS lists no email for the directors.

Program office

Per CaRMS. Staff change during the cycle, so check the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab) before emailing.

Program websiteWebsiteCANPREPPCANPREPPDalhousie Orthopaedics 2023 COSSNET Roundtable Presentation(opens in a new tab)This program on CaRMS(opens in a new tab)

Videos and podcasts

From the program

Public podcast episodes and videos where the program presents itself. The short descriptions are ours; each link goes to the original.

These are public recordings, reviewed by hand and linked here, not endorsed. They may be out of date. Confirm with the program.

All videos, podcasts and discussions →

Orthopedic Surgery elsewhere

Nearest to Halifax

  • Montreal - Orthopedic SurgeryMcGill University

    Montreal, QC · 790 km

    3 positions · Regular

    Bilingual
  • St. John's - Orthopedic SurgeryMemorial University of Newfoundland

    St. John's, NL · 897 km

    3 positions · CMG

  • Ottawa - Orthopedic SurgeryUniversity of Ottawa

    Ottawa, ON · 955 km

    5 positions · CMG, IMG

In these collections:

Source

The program’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab) · 2027 match · last approved 11 Sep 2026 · not final until file review opens 26 November; as of 19 Oct 2026, re-checked every two weeks.

Accredited · CaRMS program ID 36329 · How these pages are made › · See the 2026 match under Year by year

The Applications per year and Offered interviews figures are 5-year averages the program reports to CaRMS: past cycles, not your odds.

Independent. Not affiliated with CaRMS or the program. Programs edit their descriptions during the match; confirm on carms.ca (opens in a new tab) before you apply. Data last updated on CdnMD 24 Oct 2026.

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