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Northern Ontario - General Surgery

NOSM UniversityNorthern Ontario, Ontario

Stream

At a glance

Approx. quota
2 positions−1 from 3 in the 2026 match
2 positions+1 from 1 in the 2026 match
Length
5 years
Applications per year
51–200
Offered interviews
51–75%

CMG stream · open to Canadian medical graduates

IMG stream · open to international medical graduates

Return of service: Required

Info session

details info sessions of this program

Thu 3 Dec 2026,7:00–8:00 pm EST

Interviews

1 date, 7 Feb 2027virtual

Northern Ontario, teaching sites not stated on CaRMS page · optional rural rotation

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

  • Residents have 24-hour in-hospital access to full-body cadavers for anatomy and surgical skills training.

    From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page

  • Program-wide academic sessions of three to four full days are held three times yearly.

    From “Program curriculum” on the CaRMS page

  • The program pays for travel to core placements away from the home base and to mandatory educational activities.

    From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page

  • NOSM University's five-year General Surgery program bases residents in Thunder Bay or Sudbury, with rotations across its distributed northern Ontario area.
  • Required trauma and paediatric surgery blocks take place in Ottawa.
  • Residents must complete and present at least two research projects, and academic teaching is delivered in sessions of three to four full days held three times a year.

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

    Residents will be based out of either Thunder Bay or Sudbury, with general surgery rotations occurring throughout NOSM U's distributed geographical area.

Not a ranking.

What training looks like

Setting
  • Regional community
  • Academic / tertiary hospital
Rural exposure
Optional rural rotation
Focus areas
  • Northern
  • Procedural emphasis
  • Indigenous health
Research
Required · research project
Getting around
  • Travel is reimbursed

By year

PGY-1
  • General Surgery3 Blocks
PGY-5
  • General Surgery6 Blocks

Other rotations

Listed by the program without a single PGY year.

  • General Surgery (Foundations (PGY1 & PGY2) · 5 Blocks)
  • Emergency Medicine (Foundations (PGY1 & PGY2) · 1 Block)
  • Medical Clinical Teaching Unit (MCTU) (Foundations (PGY1 & PGY2) · 1 Block)
  • Endoscopy (Foundations (PGY1 & PGY2) · 2 Blocks)
  • General Surgery Community (Foundations (PGY1 & PGY2) · 3 Blocks)
  • Intensive Care Unit (ICU) (Foundations (PGY1 & PGY2) · 2 Blocks)
  • Trauma (Foundations (PGY1 & PGY2) · 1 Block · Ottawa)
  • Paediatric Surgery (Foundations (PGY1 & PGY2) · 2 Blocks · Ottawa)
  • General Surgery (includes Thoracic, Breast, Colorectal, ACS, HPB, Bariatric, TACS) (Core (PGY3 &PGY4) · 21 Blocks)
  • Thoracic and Vascular Surgery (Core (PGY3 &PGY4) · 2 Blocks)
  • Electives (Core (PGY3 &PGY4) · 4 Blocks)
  • General Surgery (Alternative Site) (Core (PGY3 &PGY4) · 8 Blocks)
  • General Surgery Community (Core (PGY3 &PGY4) · 3 Blocks)

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

Where you train

Northern Ontario, Ontario: teaching sites not stated on the CaRMS page; optional rural rotation.

Distributed across a region

Sites as the program’s CaRMS page lists them.

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.
Return of service
Required
IMG requirements
Not stated on CaRMS page

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

Interviews and info sessions

Interview dates (2027 match)
7 Feb 2027
Format
Virtual
  • Panel

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 5 levels this program covers.

Annual salary by PGY level, Ontario
LevelAnnual salary
PGY-1
$73,367 / year
PGY-2
$79,670 / year
PGY-3
$85,564 / year
PGY-4
$92,701 / year
PGY-5
$98,567 / 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.

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: Northern Ontario.

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
202200
202300
20242 positions open after round 1 in 2024, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)0
202500
20262 positions open after round 1 in 2026, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)0

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 stream25 years1 date, 7 Feb 2027Virtual
  • Positions 3 → 2 from the 2026 match
IMG stream25 years1 date, 7 Feb 2027Virtual
  • Positions 1 → 2 from the 2026 match
  • CaRMS page changed during the match: requirements (noticed 13 Oct)

2026 match

The 2026 match, one row per stream (scrolls sideways on narrow screens)
StreamPositionsLengthInterviews
CMG stream35 years2 dates, 19 Jan 2025 – 19 Jan 2026
IMG stream15 years2 dates, 19 Jan 2025 – 19 Jan 2026
The 2026 page of the CMG stream: our summary of its CaRMS description
  • The NOSM University General Surgery Residency Program offers a comprehensive 5-year training experience focused on producing exceptional surgeons prepared to serve Northern Ontario's unique healthcare needs.
  • Through intensive exposure to diverse surgical cases, personalized mentorship, and a distributed training model, the program aims to develop well-rounded, practice-ready surgeons who can adapt to complex medical environments.
Research
Residents are expected to complete and present a minimum of two research projects over the five-year program, with research electives available to support individual research goals.
Training setting
Distributed training across Northern Ontario, with primary bases in Thunder Bay and Sudbury, and rotations in multiple communities including North Bay, Parry Sound, Sault Ste Marie, Huntsville, and Ottawa.
Teaching approach
Competency-based medical education with progressive independence, emphasizing early integration into healthcare teams, professionalism, and high-quality patient care.
Enhanced skills
Not stated on CaRMS page
What the program looked at
  • Academic record
  • Reference letters
  • Personal letter
  • Interview performance
  • Rotation competencies
  • Research portfolio

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

  • Dr. Andrew Smith

CaRMS lists no email for the director.

Program office

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

Program websiteWebsiteInstagramCANPREPPCANPREPPThis 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 →

General Surgery elsewhere

Nearest to Northern Ontario

  • Toronto - General SurgeryUniversity of Toronto

    Toronto · 340 km

    16 positions · CMG, IMG

  • Peel & Surrounding Communities - General SurgeryToronto Metropolitan University

    Peel & Surrounding Communities · 340 km

    2 positions · CMG, IMG

  • Hamilton - General SurgeryMcMaster University

    Hamilton · 371 km

    6 positions · CMG

In these collections:

Source

The CMG stream’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab), last approved 15 Oct 2026 · The IMG stream’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab), last approved 15 Oct 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 35744 (CMG stream), 35820 (IMG stream) · How these pages are made › · See the 2026 match under Year by year

What changed, noticed 13 Oct: IMG stream: Language proficiency: wording changed. See what changed

What changed on the program’s CaRMS page

We read each program’s CaRMS page about every two weeks and note what differs. The date is when we noticed it; the change was made in the window shown. Reformatting is not listed, and a contacts change is listed without names.

  1. Noticed 13 Octchanged between 5 and 13 Oct

    • IMG stream: Language proficiency: wording changed

      … at the undergraduate medical school was conducted completely in English, then a candidate can submit a copy, or printout, of the World Directory of Medical Schools website listing the medical school which clearly states that the language of instruction is …
      From the CaRMS page, read 13 Oct

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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