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Niagara - Family Medicine

McMaster UniversityNiagara, Ontario

Stream

At a glance

Approx. quota
8 positions+1 from 7 in the 2026 match
2 positions
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: Required

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

Social

details info sessions of this program

Wed 18 Nov 2026,7:00–8:30 pm ESTvia CANPREPP source (opens in a new tab)

Interviews

4 dates, 16–26 Jan 2027virtual

1 date, 15 Jan 2027virtual

Niagara, 1 teaching site · required rural rotation

A car is required

After residency in Ontario: capitation model, entry capped

Program website(opens in a new tab)Instagram(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

  • Integrated first-year format where specialty rotations run alongside family practice for continuity of care.

    From “Training sites” on the CaRMS page

  • Core training hospital has Ontario's fourth largest emergency department and over 3,500 births yearly.

    From “Training sites” on the CaRMS page

  • Site-specific full academic day on the last Monday of each block, in addition to weekly half-days.

    From “Training sites” on the CaRMS page

  • This two-year McMaster Family Medicine site is based in Niagara, with core specialty training at Niagara Health's St. Catharines Site.
  • The first year follows an integrated format and the second year uses traditional block rotations, including 2 blocks of rural family medicine.
  • Family medicine practices are in one of six Niagara communities, and residents must have access to a car.

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

What training looks like

Setting
  • Regional community
  • Rural / remote
Rural exposure
Required rural rotation
Focus areas
  • Longitudinal / integrated
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

Niagara, Ontario: 1 teaching site; required rural rotation. A car is required.

  • Niagara Health’s St. Catharines Site (St. Catharines)

Record systems at the listed sites: Oracle Health (Cerner) at 1 of 1.

Hospital facts

1 site · clinical record systems where an official source states them

What official sources say for hospitals named above, each with its source and the date we read it. They describe the hospital, not the program. We match names to the sources by name, so check each source before you rely on it.

Niagara Health’s St. Catharines Site

Clinical record
Oracle Cerner (Cerner hospital information system), fully electronic record As of 31 Oct 2026

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

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

About St. Catharines

  • People

    136,803residents, 2021 Census

    Municipality of St. Catharines

  • Housing

    3.8%rental vacancy rate

    October 2025 survey, St

  • Winter and summer

    −3.3 °CJanuary mean22.2 °CJuly mean

    1991–2020 normals, Vineland, 12.1 km away

  • Job outlook

    Very goodfor the specialty here, 2025–2027

More about St. Catharines (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
Required
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.

Past matches

Open after round 1 in 2 of 8 years (2019–2026); still open after round 2 in 0 of 9 years.

Positions at this site, all streams. Site as CaRMS lists it: Niagara.

Show the table, with round 2
Positions at this site, all streams, still open after round 1 and after round 2, by year. Each count above zero links to the CaRMS list page it comes from.
YearOpen after round 1Open after round 2
2018not available0
201900
202000
202100
20223 positions open after round 1 in 2022, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)0
202300
20243 positions open after round 1 in 2024, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)0
202500
202600

CaRMS’s first-round list for 2018 was not found, so round 1 is counted over 8 years and round 2 over 9.

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 stream82 years4 dates, 16–26 Jan 2027Virtual
  • Positions 7 → 8 from the 2026 match
IMG stream22 years1 date, 15 Jan 2027VirtualNothing noted

2026 match

The 2026 match, one row per stream (scrolls sideways on narrow screens)
StreamPositionsLengthInterviews
CMG stream72 years5 dates, 16 Dec 2025 – 27 Jan 2026
IMG stream22 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 Niagara offers comprehensive and flexible postgraduate training designed to prepare competent family physicians.
  • The program provides diverse learning experiences across multiple community sites, emphasizing comprehensive care, clinical skills development, and personal growth.
Research
Residents have opportunities for scholarly activities, quality improvement projects, and evidence-based medicine learning through weekly Inquiry sessions.
Training setting
Training occurs across multiple Niagara communities including Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Welland, and others, with core training at Brock University and Niagara Health's St. Catharines Site, offering both tertiary care and community-based experiences.
Teaching approach
Competency-based medical education centered on Family Medicine, supporting residents' individual growth through personalized learning, progressive independence, and comprehensive care development.
Enhanced skills
Not stated on CaRMS page
What the program looked at
  • CV review
  • Elective experiences
  • 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.

Program websiteWebsiteInstagramCANPREPPCANPREPPfammedmcmaster.ca(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.

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 Niagara

  • Rural Grimsby - Family MedicineMcMaster University

    Rural Grimsby · 41 km

    3 positions · CMG

    Rural
  • Hamilton - Family MedicineMcMaster University

    Hamilton · 66 km

    40 positions · CMG, IMG

    City
  • Integrated Communities - Family MedicineUniversity of Toronto

    Integrated Communities · 67 km

    8 positions · CMG, IMG

In these collections:

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 36371 (CMG stream), 35927 (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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