Rural-Owen Sound - Family Medicine

McMaster UniversityRural-Owen Sound, OntarioCMG stream

Program websiteWebsite CANPREPPCANPREPP1 more link

Open on carms.ca

CaRMS program description, 2026 match, last approved 9 Sep 2025

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

Positions (approx. quota): 2 positions
Length: 2 years
Stream: CMG
Discipline: Family Medicine
Applications per year: 601+
Applicants offered interviews: 76–100%
Accreditation: Accredited
CaRMS program ID: 29280

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

Summary

McMaster University's Family Medicine Rural-Owen Sound program offers comprehensive training for future family physicians in a picturesque rural setting. The program prepares residents for a broad-scope practice with opportunities in diverse medical contexts, emphasizing community-focused care and comprehensive medical skills.

Training

Research

Includes weekly Inquiry sessions focusing on quality improvement and evidence-based medicine

Training setting

Rural setting in Owen Sound, located on Georgian Bay, with training across multiple small community hospitals including Owen Sound, Southampton, and Wiarton hospitals. Residents work in a catchment area serving 160,000 people.

Teaching approach

Competency-based medical education focused on developing comprehensive family physicians through individualized training, progressive independence, and a learner-centered approach.

Setting types

Rural community hospital
Family Health Team
Community clinic

Focus areas

Rural Family Medicine
Broad Scope Practice
Community-Based Care
Comprehensive Family Medicine

Patient populations

Newborn care patients
Elderly patients
Palliative care patients
Emergency medicine patients
Inpatient and outpatient populations

Highlights

Longitudinal Primary Preceptor relationship
Mental Health and Behavioural Science continuity learning
Robust orientation series
Leadership opportunities
Resident Well-being Strategy
Comprehensive resident support services

Strengths

1:1 preceptor ratio
Broad scope of practice opportunities
Strong rural medicine training
Comprehensive clinical exposure
Emphasis on community-based care

Enhanced skills

Care of the Elderly
Procedural Skills
Emergency Medicine
Obstetrics

By year

PGY-1

Family MedicineOwen Sound4 blocks
Care of the Hospitalized AdultOwen Sound Hospital2 blocks
Emergency MedicineBrightshores Health Systems2 blocks
Women's Health and ObstetricsOwen Sound2 blocks
Care of ChildrenOwen Sound2 blocks
Family Medicine/Academic ProgrammingOwen Sound1 block
Continuity Family Medicine Homebase ClinicsOwen Sound, Wiarton, Southampton/Port ElginThroughout year

PGY-2

Family MedicineOwen Sound4 blocks
ElectiveVaries3 blocks
Rural Family MedicineRural sites2 blocks
Core Medicine/Surgery SelectiveSite-based options2 blocks
Care of the ElderlyOwen Sound1 block
Family Medicine/Academic ProgrammingOwen Sound1 block
Continuity Family Medicine Homebase ClinicsOwen Sound, Wiarton, Southampton/Port ElginThroughout year

From the program's rotation list.

Selection

What the program looks at

FMProC Situational Judgement Test
Structured Reference Letters
Medical Student Performance Record
Personal letter
CV/Resume
Interview performance

Applications per year

601+

Applicants offered interviews

76–100%

Interviews

Dates (2026 match): 16 Dec 2025; 17, 19, 21 and 27 Jan 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

One provincial scale for Ontario, set by the resident agreement, so every program there pays the same. Showing the 2 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

Brightshores Health Systems
Owen Sound Hospital
Southampton Hospital
Wiarton Hospital

Hospital facts

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

Unfilled positions in past years

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: Rural-Owen Sound.

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	0	0
2020	1 position open after round 1 in 2020, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	0
2021	0	0
2022	0	0
2023	0	0
2024	1 position open after round 1 in 2024, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	0
2025	0	0
2026	0	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

Rural-Owen Sound, 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: −6.1 °C Wiarton, 23.3 km away
July average: 18.9 °C Wiarton, 23.3 km away
Snowfall: 385.1 cm a year Wiarton, 23.3 km away
Days below −20 °C: 6.2 days a year Wiarton, 23.3 km away

People

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

Population: 21,612 people up 1.3% from 2016
Official languages: English only 93.1% · French only 0.0% · English and French 6.6% · neither 0.2% Share of residents who can conduct a conversation in each. This is not the language spoken at home.
Immigrants: 7.8% of residents arrived 2016–2021: 1.3% · non-permanent residents: 0.6%
Indigenous identity: 4.2% of residents
How people commute: car, truck or van 88.0% · public transit 1.8% · walking or cycling 8.6% · other 1.6% Average commute: 17.9 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: $63,200 before tax $57,600 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: Owen Sound, a small population centre (1,000 to 29,999 people) 22,318 people in 2021
Remoteness index: 0.152 0 is least remote, 1 is most remote. Statistics Canada calls this index experimental.
Student loan forgiveness: Family medicine here may qualify for up to $60,000 of Canada Student Loan forgiveness. Eligibility depends on the postal code of where you work: check the official postal-code lookup. Postal-code lookup(opens in a new tab)

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: 2.3% October 2025 survey, Owen Sound, Ontario (census agglomeration). The share of purpose-built rentals (three units and over) vacant, not a rent.
Basic cost of living: $51,047 a year Market Basket Measure 2025, Ontario, population 30,000 to 99,999, 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.

Job outlook

Employment and Social Development Canada’s rating for the occupation in the economic region. It is not a count of jobs, and says nothing about CaRMS positions or your match.

Outlook, 2025–2027: Very good The employment outlook will be Very good for general practitioners and family physicians (NOC 31102) in the Stratford - Bruce Peninsula region for the 2025-2027 period.
Canada-wide, to 2033: Strong risk of Shortage ESDC’s projection for general practitioners and family physicians, 2024–2033. Recent conditions, 2021–2023: Strong signs of Shortage.

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 34-10-0132-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation or Statistics Canada of this product.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada (Employment and Social Development Canada, Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS), 2024 to 2033 projections).
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada (Canadian Climate Normals 1991-2020).
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada (Employment and Social Development Canada, 3-Year Employment Outlooks).
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Index of Remoteness (17-26-0001), 2021. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Canada Student Loan Forgiveness (Canada.ca), page dated 2026-06-03.
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.