Yellowknife - Family Medicine
University of AlbertaYellowknife, Northwest TerritoriesCMG stream
At a glance
- Approx. quota
- 2
- Length
- 2
- Applications per year
- 401–600
- Offered interviews
- 76–100%
CMG stream · open to Canadian medical graduates
Interviews
2 dates, 17–18 Jan 2027
Yellowknife, 5 teaching sites · 16 rural weeks
What stands out about this program
Canada's only full-time residency program based in a circumpolar region.
From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page
Each resident is linked to a small NWT community for ongoing clinic visits and continuity of care.
From “Program curriculum” on the CaRMS page
A monthly Northern Living Allowance is added to pay.
From “Training sites” on the CaRMS page
- This is a 2-year University of Alberta family medicine program based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
- Training combines integrated family medicine blocks with 8-week community blocks in Iqaluit and Inuvik and specialty rotations in Alberta.
- Residents spend 7.5 months outside Yellowknife, must have a vehicle, and complete required quality improvement projects.
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
What training looks like
- Setting
- Regional community
- Academic / tertiary hospital
- Rural / remote
- Rural exposure
- Required rural rotation (16 weeks)
- Focus areas
- Northern
- Indigenous health
- Rural / remote
- Longitudinal / integrated
- Small program
- Research
- Required · scholarly or quality-improvement project
- Getting around
- A car is required
- Housing away from the home site is provided or paid for
- Travel is reimbursed
By year
- PGY-1
- Family Medicine Block20 wks
- Anesthesia2 wks
- General Surgery4 wks
- Pediatrics4 wks
- Family Medicine Community Block8 wks
- Pediatrics EM4 wks
- Electives8 wks
- PGY-2
- Family Medicine Block22 wks
- Women’s Health4 wks
- Emergency Medicine4 wks
- Family Medicine Community Block8 wks
- Palliative Care2 wks
- Intensive Care4 wks
- Trauma Medicine4 wks
- Electives4 wks
Where you train
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories: 5 teaching sites; 16 rural weeks. A car is required.
- Stanton Territorial Hospital
- Qikiqtani General Hospital (Iqaluit · rural or distributed site)
- Inuvik Regional Hospital (Inuvik · rural or distributed site)
- University of Alberta Hospital (UAH) (Edmonton)
- Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) (Edmonton)
Distributed across a region
Record systems at the listed sites: Epic at 2 of 5; no published record for 3.
Hospital facts
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.
- Clinical record
- Epic (Connect Care), fully electronic record since Nov 2024
Hospital size and activity: Northwest Territories doesn't publish this as open data.
About Yellowknife
People
20,340residents, 2021 Census
Housing
1.3%rental vacancy rate
Winter and summer
−25.5 °CJanuary mean17.1 °CJuly mean
Job outlook
Very goodfor the specialty here, 2025–2027
How they choose
- Application file components
- CV
- Electives
- Examinations
- Extra-curricular
- Leadership skills
- MSPRs
- Personal letters
- Reference documents
- Research/Publications
- Transcripts
- Return of service
- Not required · all residents
Interviews and info sessions
- Interview dates (2027 match)
- 17 and 18 Jan 2027
- Format
- Virtual
- Traditional (one on one/two on one)
Info sessions
None listed on the program’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab) (read 20 Oct 2026) or on CANPREPP’s events calendar (read 24 Oct 2026). Programs add sessions through the fall.
59 Family Medicine info sessions at other programsAll info sessions
Pay and call
No salary scale on file for Northwest Territories. See the CaRMS salary page(opens in a new tab).
Call
- Call (as the program states it)
- Home call
After residency
Family doctors in the Northwest Territories are hired into posted positions on a salaried contract (one, two or three years). No separate new-graduate rule on the official pages we read. Compare provinces
Past matches
No repeated vacancies in CaRMS’s lists of open positions, 2019–2026.
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.
Year by year
2027 match
| Stream | Positions | Length | Interviews | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMG stream | 2 | 2 years | 2 dates, 17–18 Jan 2027 | Nothing noted |
2026 match
| Stream | Positions | Length | Interviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMG stream | 2 | 2 years | 4 dates, 16 Dec 2025 – 19 Jan 2026 |
The 2026 page of the CMG stream: our summary of its CaRMS description
- The University of Alberta's Yellowknife Rural Family Medicine residency is Canada's only full-time residency program based in a circumpolar region.
- Located in the Northwest Territories, this unique program prepares family physicians to serve in underserved urban, rural, and remote areas with a strong emphasis on Indigenous health.
- Research
- Residents complete four small Evidence-Based Medicine research projects in first year and a Practice Quality Improvement project in second year, with potential conference presentation funding.
- Training setting
- A diverse, multicultural environment in Yellowknife, with rotations in Stanton Territorial Hospital, Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit, and Inuvik Regional Hospital, serving populations across nearly 18% of Canada's landmass.
- Teaching approach
- Competency-based medical education emphasizing comprehensive, full-scope training with progressive independence, one-on-one preceptorship, and exposure to diverse clinical experiences.
- Enhanced skills
- Not stated on CaRMS page
- What the program looked at
- FMProC assessment
- Medical Student Performance Record
- Reference letters
- Personal letter
- Interview performance
Contacts and links
- Program directors
Dr. Michelle Morros
Margaret CassonStream Co-Director
Kajsa HeyesStream Co-Director
CaRMS lists no email for the directors.
- Program office
Stream Administrator
Per CaRMS. Staff change during the cycle, so check the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab) before emailing.
Family Medicine elsewhere
Nearest to Yellowknife
- Rural
- Regional
- Rural
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