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Guelph - Family Medicine

McMaster UniversityGuelph, Ontario

Stream

At a glance

Approx. quota
3 positions
1 position
Length
2 years
Applications per year
601+
Offered interviews
76–100%
0–25%

CMG stream · open to Canadian medical graduates

IMG stream · open to international medical graduates

Return of service: not stated on the CaRMS page

IMG requirements: Assessment by a provincial clinical assessment program; Observerships don’t count as clinical experience details under How they choose

Interviews

4 dates, 16–26 Jan 2027virtual

1 date, 15 Jan 2027virtual

Guelph, 2 teaching sites · required rural rotation

A car is required

After residency in Ontario: capitation model, entry capped

What stands out about this program

  • Academic learning is shared with residents from the nearby Fergus and Mount Forest rural sites.

    From “Training sites” on the CaRMS page

  • This is a 2-year McMaster family medicine residency at the Guelph site, which uses a block-format curriculum.
  • Family medicine training takes place in Guelph and East Wellington Family Health Team practices in Guelph, Rockwood, Erin and Morriston.
  • Second year includes 2 blocks of rural family medicine, and residents must have access to a car.

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

Based on what the program says about itself.

Not a ranking.

What training looks like

Setting
  • Urban community
  • Rural / remote
Rural exposure
Required rural rotation
Getting around
  • A car is required

By year

PGY-1
  • Family Medicine4 blocks
  • Care of the Hospitalized Adult2 blocks
  • Emergency Medicine2 blocks
  • Women's Health and Obstetrics2 blocks
  • Care of Children2 blocks
  • Family Medicine/Academic Programming (Block 7)1 block
  • Continuity Family Medicine homebase clinics
PGY-2
  • Family Medicine4 blocks
  • Elective3 blocks
  • Rural Family Medicine2 blocks
  • Core Medicine/Surgery Selective (site-based options)2 blocks
  • Care of the Elderly1 block
  • Family Medicine/Academic Programming (Block 7)1 block
  • Continuity Family Medicine homebase clinics

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

Where you train

Guelph, Ontario: 2 teaching sites; required rural rotation. A car is required.

  • Guelph Family Health Team
  • East Wellington Family Health Team

Distributed across a region

Record systems at the listed sites: no published record for 2 of 2.

Hospital facts

Hospital size and activity: Ontario doesn't publish this as open data.

About Guelph

  • People

    143,740residents, 2021 Census

    Municipality of Guelph

  • Housing

    2.9%rental vacancy rate

    October 2025 survey, Guelph, Ontario (census metropolitan area)

  • Winter and summer

    −6.3 °CJanuary mean20.2 °CJuly mean

    1991–2020 normals, Kitchener/Waterloo, 13.8 km away

  • Job outlook

    Very goodfor the specialty here, 2025–2027

More about Guelph (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
  • Other file component(s)
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.
Return of service
Not stated on CaRMS page. Check the provincial return-of-service rules.
IMG requirements
  • Assessment by a provincial clinical assessment program
  • Observerships don’t count as clinical experience

Application file components as each stream’s CaRMS page describes them.

Interviews and info sessions

Interview dates (2027 match)
16, 18, 20 and 26 Jan 2027
Interview dates (2027 match)
15 Jan 2027
Format
Virtual
  • MMI or rotating station
Format
Virtual
  • Traditional (one on one/two on one)

Info sessions

From the program’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab), read 20 Oct 2026; a row tagged CANPREPP is on CANPREPP’s events calendar (read 24 Oct 2026), alone or as well. Dates and times are as the program wrote them; “your time” is worked out in your browser when your time zone differs. Programs add and change sessions.

Pay and call

Provincial scale, last updated 6 Jan 2025 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab). Contract expired, may change. One provincial scale for Ontario, set by the resident agreement, so every program there pays the same. Showing the 2 levels this program covers.

Annual salary by PGY level, Ontario
LevelAnnual salary
PGY-1
$73,367 / year
PGY-2
$79,670 / year

How provincial pay and rent compare

Call

Call (provincial max)
7 nights in 28 in-house
Post-call rule (provincial)
No new patient responsibilities after 24 hours in-hospital, except what clinical handover needs
Max continuous duty (provincial)
24 hours in-hospital, then relieved after handover (up to 2 hours)

The union agreement’s limits and rules for all residents in the province; your program’s actual call schedule may be lighter. PARO agreement, 1 Jul 2023 to 30 Jun 2026. The term has ended; its terms continue until a new agreement is signed. Read as of 1 Oct 2026.

After residency

Family doctors in Ontario can join a model that pays for enrolled patients, hours worked and visits: the Family Health Organization (FHO), FHO+ since 1 April 2026. A new graduate is a physician who joins a patient enrolment model within three years of completing a family medicine residency; the status runs for 12 months from joining. Entry is capped: 40 physicians a month for FHO, 60 a month for FHO+ in the first year of the 2024-2028 agreement; later years to be determined. Compare provinces

Official pages read 31 Oct 2026.

Year by year

2027 match

The 2027 match, one row per stream (scrolls sideways on narrow screens)
StreamPositionsLengthInterviewsWhat changed
CMG stream32 years4 dates, 16–26 Jan 2027VirtualNothing noted
IMG stream12 years1 date, 15 Jan 2027VirtualNothing noted

2026 match

The 2026 match, one row per stream (scrolls sideways on narrow screens)
StreamPositionsLengthInterviews
CMG stream32 years5 dates, 16 Dec 2025 – 27 Jan 2026
IMG stream12 years1 date, 16 Jan 2026
The 2026 page of the CMG stream: our summary of its CaRMS description
  • McMaster University's Family Medicine Residency Program in Guelph offers a comprehensive two-year training experience focused on developing competent, compassionate family physicians.
  • The program provides diverse clinical rotations, personalized mentorship, and a strong commitment to equity, diversity, and community-centered care.
Research
Scholarship opportunities through Inquiry sessions, quality improvement, and evidence-based medicine learning.
Training setting
The Guelph site offers a diverse learning environment in a vibrant city, with training across family health teams, hospitals, and community clinics, providing exposure to both rural and urban patient care settings.
Teaching approach
Competency-based medical education centered on developing comprehensive family physicians through personalized mentorship, progressive independence, and a holistic approach to patient care.
Enhanced skills
Not stated on CaRMS page
What the program looked at
  • CV and life experiences
  • Electives
  • Extra-curricular activities
  • Leadership skills
  • Medical Student Performance Record
  • Personal letter
  • Reference documents
  • Research/Publications
  • FMProC Situational Judgement Test

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 director

Per CaRMS. Staff change during the cycle, so check the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab) before emailing. Site staff and other contacts are listed there too.

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.

From residents

Public podcast episodes and videos where residents describe this program. 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 →

Family Medicine elsewhere

Nearest to Guelph

  • Rural Fergus · 21 km

    2 positions · CMG

    Rural
  • Regional West · 22 km

    16 positions · CMG, IMG

    Rural
  • Kitchener-Waterloo · 22 km

    20 positions · CMG, IMG

    City

Source

The CMG stream’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab), last approved 27 Aug 2026 · The IMG stream’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab), last approved 24 Sep 2026 · 2027 match · not final until file review opens 26 November; as of 19 Oct 2026, re-checked every two weeks.

Accredited · CaRMS program IDs 36199 (CMG stream), 35469 (IMG stream) · 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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