Skip to content
CdnMD

Rural Fergus - Family Medicine

McMaster UniversityRural Fergus, OntarioCMG stream

At a glance

Approx. quota
2 positions
Length
2 years
Applications per year
601+
Offered interviews
76–100%

CMG stream · open to Canadian medical graduates

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

Rural Fergus, 2 teaching sites · based in a rural community

A car is required

After residency in Ontario: capitation model, entry capped

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

  • Training in culturally sensitive care for the area's significant Mennonite population.

    From “Training sites” on the CaRMS page

  • Internal medicine and emergency rotations can be blended between rural Fergus and nearby urban hubs.

    From “Training sites” on the CaRMS page

  • Family practice obstetrics group with weekly rounds and a 55-bed hospital handling 600 births yearly.

    From “Training sites” on the CaRMS page

  • This two-year McMaster family medicine program is based in Fergus, a rural Ontario community, and prepares residents for rural family practice.
  • Core family medicine takes place in Fergus or Elora, off-service rotations in Fergus, Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo or Cambridge, and academic sessions at the Guelph Family Health Team.
  • Second year includes 2 blocks of rural family medicine and 3 elective blocks.

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

Based on what the program says about itself.

  • You’re open to training at sites across a region, not at one hospital.
    Show the quote

    Core family medicine rotations will be in Fergus or Elora, with off-service rotations being distributed between Fergus, Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, or Cambridge.

Not a ranking.

What training looks like

Setting
  • Rural / remote
  • Regional community
Rural exposure
Based in a rural community
Focus areas
  • Rural / remote
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

Rural Fergus, Ontario: 2 teaching sites; based in a rural community. A car is required.

  • Groves Memorial Community Hospital (GMCH) (Fergus)
  • Guelph Family Health Team (Guelph)

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 Fergus

  • People

    31,093residents, 2021 Census

    Municipality of Centre Wellington

  • Housing

    3.7%rental vacancy rate

    October 2025 survey, Centre Wellington, Ontario (census agglomeration)

  • Winter and summer

    −6.9 °CJanuary mean19.5 °CJuly mean

    1991–2020 normals, Elora, 5.8 km away

  • Job outlook

    Very goodfor the specialty here, 2025–2027

More about Fergus (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)
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)
16, 18, 20 and 26 Jan 2027
Format
Virtual
  • MMI or rotating station

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 stream22 years4 dates, 16–26 Jan 2027VirtualNothing noted

2026 match

The 2026 match, one row per stream (scrolls sideways on narrow screens)
StreamPositionsLengthInterviews
CMG stream22 years5 dates, 16 Dec 2025 – 27 Jan 2026
The 2026 page of the CMG stream: our summary of its CaRMS description
  • McMaster University's Family Medicine Rural Fergus program offers comprehensive generalist training in a rural setting.
  • Located in the charming town of Fergus, this two-year residency prepares family physicians for diverse medical contexts with a strong emphasis on comprehensive, community-focused care.
  • Residents will gain robust skills through blended urban and rural training opportunities, with exposure to various clinical settings and a unique connection to the local Mennonite community.
Research
Residents engage in weekly Inquiry sessions focusing on quality improvement and evidence-based medicine
Training setting
Rural community of Fergus, Ontario, with training sites in Fergus, Elora, Guelph, and surrounding urban centers. Residents will work at Groves Memorial Community Hospital and local family medicine clinics.
Teaching approach
Competency-based medical education focused on developing comprehensive family physicians through progressive independence, mentorship, and diverse clinical experiences across urban and rural settings.
Enhanced skills
Not stated on CaRMS page
What the program looked at
  • CV/Life experiences
  • Electives
  • Extra-curricular activities
  • Leadership skills
  • Medical Student Performance Record
  • Personal letters
  • Reference documents
  • 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 websiteWebsiteCANPREPPCANPREPPThis 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 Rural Fergus

  • Guelph - Family MedicineMcMaster University

    Guelph · 21 km

    4 positions · CMG, IMG

    City
  • Kitchener-Waterloo - Family MedicineMcMaster University

    Kitchener-Waterloo · 30 km

    20 positions · CMG, IMG

    City
  • Regional West - Family MedicineWestern University

    Regional West · 30 km

    16 positions · CMG, IMG

    Rural
In these collections:

Source

The program’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab) · 2027 match · last approved 22 Sep 2026 · not final until file review opens 26 November; as of 19 Oct 2026, re-checked every two weeks.

Accredited · CaRMS program ID 35915 · 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.

Did this page answer your question?