Montreal - Cardiac Surgery
McGill UniversityMontreal, QuebecRegular stream
At a glance
- Approx. quota
- 1
- Length
- 6
- Applications per year
- 0–50
- Offered interviews
- 51–75%
Regular stream · open to Canadian and international medical graduates
Interviews
1 date, 28 Jan 2027
Montreal, 5 teaching sites
What stands out about this program
Protected PGY3 research year with access to McGill's MSc in Experimental Surgery.
From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page
One staff surgeon for every two residents.
From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page
Two visiting professorships each year: Fraser Gurd and Stikeman Days.
From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page
- McGill's Cardiac Surgery residency is a six-year program that begins with two years of Surgical Foundations training.
- PGY3 is an Academic Enrichment Year protected for research, with the option of enrolling in the McGill MSc in Experimental Surgery.
- Cardiac surgery training takes place at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Jewish General Hospital and Montreal Children's Hospital.
What training looks like
- Setting
- Academic / tertiary hospital
- Rural exposure
- Not stated on CaRMS page
- Research
- Required · research project · protected time
- Training language
- English and French
By year
- PGY-3
- Academic Enrichment Year
Other rotations
- Surgical Foundations training (first two years · two years)
- intensive care (first two years)
- emergency medicine (first two years)
- senior-level thoracic and vascular surgery (senior years)
- pediatric and congenital cardiac surgery (senior years · Montreal Children's Hospital)
- transcatheter aortic valve replacement and structural heart interventions (senior years)
- adult cardiac surgery (senior years · Royal Victoria Hospital (Glen site))
- adult cardiac surgery (senior years · Jewish General Hospital)
Where you train
Montreal, Quebec: 5 teaching sites.
- Royal Victoria Hospital, Glen site
- Jewish General Hospital
- Montreal Children's Hospital, Glen site
- Montreal General Hospital
- St. Mary's Hospital
Record systems at the listed sites: TELUS at 3 of 5; no published record for 2.
Hospital facts
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
- TELUS (Oacis), since 2006, system named (how far it goes is not stated)
Royal Victoria Hospital, Glen site
- Emergency visits
- 2025–2026: 19,799 · 2026–2027: 20,604
Jewish General Hospital
- Emergency visits
- 2025–2026: 37,934 · 2026–2027: 39,472
- Licensed beds
- physical health 516 · psychiatry 52 · geriatrics 28 · neonatology 34
Montreal Children's Hospital, Glen site
- Emergency visits
- 2025–2026: 25,738 · 2026–2027: 26,552
Show facts for 2 more sitesShow fewer
Montreal General Hospital
- Emergency visits
- 2025–2026: 14,039 · 2026–2027: 14,682
- Licensed beds
- physical health 236 · psychiatry 46
St. Mary's Hospital
- Emergency visits
- 2025–2026: 13,990 · 2026–2027: 14,053
- Licensed beds
- physical health 224 · psychiatry 29 · geriatrics 24
About Montréal
People
1,762,949residents, 2021 Census
Housing
2.9%rental vacancy rate
Winter and summer
−9.2 °CJanuary mean21.7 °CJuly mean
Job outlook
Goodfor the specialty here, 2025–2027
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.
- IMG requirements
- Recent clinical experience (within 4 years)
- Observerships don’t count as clinical experience
Interviews and info sessions
- Interview dates (2027 match)
- 28 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.
2 Cardiac Surgery info sessions at other programsAll info sessions
Pay and call
| Level | Annual salary |
|---|---|
| PGY-1 | $58,728 / year |
| PGY-2 | $64,809 / year |
| PGY-3 | $70,890 / year |
| PGY-4 | $76,969 / year |
| PGY-5 | $83,050 / year |
| PGY-6 | $89,131 / year |
Call
- Call (provincial max)
- 6 calls in an establishment per 28 days
- Post-call rule (provincial)
- 8 hours of mandatory rest after a work period
- Max continuous duty (provincial)
- 16 hours in an establishment in any 24-hour period
Benefits
- Adoption leave
- 29 to 38 weeks55 to 75 % of salary
- Annual vacation
- 20 days/year
- Assistant Resident Coordinator
- $425/month
- Call Premium
- $607/28 days
- Conference leave
- 7 days pd/year
- Dental Plan
- Yes, available for a fee
- Exam leave
- Day (s) of the exam
- Extended Health Insurance
- Yes
- Leave for death in family
- From 1 to 5 days depending on the family member
- Leave of absence without pay (exceptional measure)
- 12 months maximum
- Life insurance
- Yes
- Long-Term disability insurance
- Yes
- Maternity leaveProvincial Program (RQAP*) and FMRQ **
- 21 weeks95 % of salary
- Meals
- Reduced feeFree during on-call duty
- Pager
- Provided by the establishment
- Parental leave (time sharing between parents)
- 19 to 29 weeks55 to 75 % of salary
- Parking
- ½ of doctors’ feeFree during on-call duty
- Paternity leaveProvincial Program (RQAP) and FMRQ
- 1 week, 100% of salary3 to 5 weeks, 100% of salary(two options)
- Professional Liability Insurance****(CPMA not applicable)
- Yes (free)
- Quebec Health Insurance Program / RAMQ***
- Yes
- Resident Coordinator
- $583/month
- Resuscitation courses and examination leave
- Day of the course and of the exam, course paid
- Sick leave
- 9.6 days pd / yearAnd reimbursement of days not taken
- Statutory and floating holidays
- 13/year
- Study leave
- 10 days pd/year
- Superior Financial Programs
- Yes
- Teaching Premium
- $240/28 days
- Wedding leave
- 7 days paid + 7 days without pay
Past matches
No repeated vacancies in CaRMS’s lists of open positions, 2019–2026.
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.
Year by year
2027 match
| Stream | Positions | Length | Interviews | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular stream | 1 | 6 years | 1 date, 28 Jan 2027 | Nothing noted |
2026 match
| Stream | Positions | Length | Interviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular stream | 1 | 6 years | 1 date, 5 Feb 2026 |
The 2026 page of the Regular stream: our summary of its CaRMS description
- McGill's Cardiac Surgery Residency is a comprehensive 6-year training program designed to produce autonomous academic cardiac surgeons.
- The program provides a rich and diverse clinical environment with hands-on training and opportunities for scholarly advancement.
- Research
- One year dedicated to academic enrichment, with opportunities to pursue Master of Science or potential Ph.D. in surgical research
- Training setting
- Training occurs across three primary sites in Montreal: Royal Victoria Hospital (Glen campus), Jewish General Hospital, and Montreal Children's Hospital (Glen campus), with potential exposure to affiliated disciplines at Montreal General Hospital, St. Mary's Hospital, and Montreal Chest Hospital.
- Teaching approach
- Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) with progressive skill development, frequent formative assessments, and targeted learning outcomes throughout training stages.
- Enhanced skills
- Not stated on CaRMS page
- What the program looked at
- CV
- Electives
- Extra-curricular activities
- Leadership skills
- Medical Student Performance Record (MSPR)
- Personal letter
- Reference documents
- Research/Publications
- Transcripts
Contacts and links
- Program director
Dr. David Drullinsky
CaRMS lists no email for the director.
- Program office
Program Administrator
Per CaRMS. Staff change during the cycle, so check the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab) before emailing.
Cardiac Surgery elsewhere
Nearest to Montreal
- French
Did this page answer your question?