Ottawa - Public Health and Preventive Medicine including Family Medicine

University of OttawaOttawa, OntarioCMG stream

Program websiteWebsite

Open on carms.ca

CaRMS program description, 2026 match, last approved 10 Oct 2025

From the 2026 match (R-1 2026). See the 2027 version

Positions (approx. quota): 2 positions
Length: 5 years
Stream: CMG
Discipline: Public Health and Preventive Medicine including Family Medicine
Applications per year: 51–200
Applicants offered interviews: 0–25%
Accreditation: Accredited
CaRMS program ID: 30100

Bands are 5-year averages the program reports to CaRMS. They describe past cycles, not your odds.

Summary

The University of Ottawa's Public Health and Preventive Medicine (PHPM) residency program offers comprehensive training in Ottawa, providing unique local, provincial, and federal public health opportunities. The program is designed to prepare residents to independently practice PHPM at multiple levels, with training in both official languages and diverse settings.

Training

Research

Residents are encouraged to complete research projects and can pursue Master's degrees with program support.

Training setting

Training occurs in urban and rural settings across Ottawa, including community health centers, academic hospitals, federal and provincial government agencies, and local health units.

Teaching approach

Tailored, competency-based training with formative assessments, self-directed learning, and progressive independence, focusing on developing comprehensive public health physician competencies.

Setting types

Academic medical center
Community health center
Federal government agencies
Provincial health units
Research institutions

Focus areas

Public Health Practice
Preventive Medicine
Population Health
Health Promotion
Disease Prevention
Epidemiology
Health Protection

Patient populations

Urban populations
Rural communities
Federal government populations
Indigenous populations
Provincial health system populations

Highlights

Training in both official languages
Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME)
PULSE 360-Degree Surveys
Personal Conference/Educational Resources Fund
Opportunities for Master's degree completion
Media training
Emergency preparedness simulations
Field trips to public health sites

Strengths

Comprehensive training across local, provincial, and federal levels
Strong academic and practical training integration
Flexible and responsive curriculum
Extensive rotation opportunities
Support for personal career goals

Enhanced skills

Epidemiology
Biostatistics
Public Health Policy
Program Evaluation
Leadership Skills

By year

PGY-1

Local Public Health UnitLocal community health centerTransition to Discipline

PGY-2

Graduate Level CourseworkSchool of Epidemiology and Public HealthFull year
Academic TrainingUniversity of Ottawa10 blocks

PGY-3

Surveillance/EpidemiologyVarious public health sites3-4 blocks
Communicable Disease ControlLocal public health units3 blocks
Health PromotionVarious health promotion agencies3 blocks

PGY-4

Environmental HealthEnvironmental health agencies3 blocks
Communicable Disease ControlAdvanced public health sites3 senior blocks

PGY-5

Elective RotationsResident-selected sites8-16 blocks
Senior Management and LeadershipSenior public health leadership roles6 blocks

From the program's rotation list.

Selection

What the program looks at

Academic excellence
MCCQE Part I results
Letters of reference
Personal letter
Interview performance
Demonstrated public health interest

Applications per year

51–200

Applicants offered interviews

0–25%

Interviews

Dates (2026 match): 3, 4 and 5 Feb 2026

Programs can change interview dates. Confirm on carms.ca.

Pay

Provincial scale, last updated 6 Jan 2025 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Contract expired, may change.

Annual salary by PGY level, Ontario
Level	Annual 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

One provincial scale for Ontario, set by the resident agreement, so every program there pays the same. Showing the 5 levels this program covers.

Call

Call (provincial max): 7 nights in 28 in-house

The union agreement’s cap for all residents in the province; your program’s actual call schedule may be lighter. Check with the program.

PARO agreement, 1 Jul 2023 to 30 Jun 2026. The term has ended; its terms continue until a new agreement is signed.

Teaching sites

Ottawa Hospital
Ottawa Public Health
Public Health Agency of Canada
Indigenous Services Canada
Department of National Defence

Hospital facts

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

Unfilled positions in past years

Open after round 1 in 4 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: Ottawa.

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.
Year	Open after round 1	Open after round 2
2018	not available	0
2019	1 position open after round 1 in 2019, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	0
2020	0	0
2021	0	0
2022	0	0
2023	1 position open after round 1 in 2023, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	0
2024	2 positions open after round 1 in 2024, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	0
2025	0	0
2026	1 position 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.

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. Verify with the CaRMS lists. 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)). 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.

Contacts

Contacts weren't collected for the 2026 match.

The current program director and contacts are on the 2027 version of this program and on the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab).

Location

Ottawa, Ontario

About the city

Public statistics for the place named by this program’s location label, each with its source and reference period. They describe the place, not the program, and are not a ranking. Check each source before you rely on it.

Climate

Canadian Climate Normals, 1991–2020. Each value comes from the nearest weather station that reports it, not from the city itself.

January average: −9.6 °C Ottawa (City), 5.1 km away
July average: 21.3 °C Ottawa (City), 5.1 km away
Snowfall: 184.5 cm a year Ottawa (City), 5.1 km away
Days below −20 °C: 15.4 days a year Ottawa (City), 5.1 km away

People

2021 Census. Figures are for the municipality of Ottawa, not the metropolitan area. Statistics Canada rounds counts, so small places are approximate.

Population: 1,017,449 people up 8.9% from 2016
Official languages: English only 60.6% · French only 1.4% · English and French 36.4% · neither 1.5% Share of residents who can conduct a conversation in each. This is not the language spoken at home.
Immigrants: 25.9% of residents arrived 2016–2021: 4.7% · non-permanent residents: 3.0%
Indigenous identity: 2.6% of residents
How people commute: car, truck or van 76.8% · public transit 11.2% · walking or cycling 8.6% · other 3.4% Average commute: 23.0 minutes. Shares are of people who commute.The way Canadians commute was altered in 2021 by the pandemic, with lockdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19 and changes in how and where Canadians worked leading to 2.8 million fewer commuters, compared with five years earlier. Statistics Canada, The Daily, 30 Nov 2022(opens in a new tab)
Median household income: $102,000 before tax $88,000 after tax · income year 2020, in 2020 dollars

Rural and remote

This describes the place named by the program’s location label. Programs can train in several towns, so it is not every site.

Population centre: Ottawa - Gatineau, a large urban population centre (100,000 or more people) 1,068,821 people in 2021
Remoteness index: 0.097 0 is least remote, 1 is most remote. Statistics Canada calls this index experimental.

Housing, cost and work

Each figure names the area it covers. A missing line means the source publishes nothing for this area.

Rental vacancy rate: 2.9% October 2025 survey, Ottawa-Gatineau, Ontario part, Ontario/Quebec (census agglomeration). The share of purpose-built rentals (three units and over) vacant, not a rent.
Basic cost of living: $58,803 a year Market Basket Measure 2025, Ottawa-Gatineau, Ontario part, Ontario/Quebec, for two adults with two children. A modest, basic basket (the poverty line), not a resident’s budget. A size-class region is not the town itself.
Unemployment rate: 7.2% September 2026, three-month average, seasonally adjusted, Ottawa-Gatineau, Ontario part, Ontario/Quebec (census metropolitan area); standard error 0.8 points. A survey estimate.

Sources and licences

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Adapted from Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Cartographic Boundary Files.
Adapted from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Rental Market Survey, October 2025 (vacancy rates), and Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0130-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation or Statistics Canada of this product.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada (Canadian Climate Normals 1991-2020).
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Index of Remoteness (17-26-0001), 2021. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 14-10-0459-01 Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area, three-month moving average, seasonally adjusted, reference month 2026-09. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0066-01 Market Basket Measure (MBM) thresholds for the reference family by Market Basket Measure region, component and base year, 2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0011-01 Population and dwelling counts: Canada and population centres, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0002-01 Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0057-01 Household income statistics by household type: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0173-01 Mother tongue by knowledge of official languages: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0266-01 Indigenous identity by Registered or Treaty Indian status: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0307-01 Immigrant status and period of immigration by place of birth: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0458-01 Main mode of commuting by commuting duration, time leaving for work, age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.

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 5 Oct 2026.