Edmonton - General Surgery
University of AlbertaEdmonton, AlbertaCMG stream
At a glance
- Approx. quota
- 7
- Length
- 5
- Applications per year
- 51–200
- Offered interviews
- 51–75%
CMG stream · open to Canadian medical graduates
Open house
all 2 info sessions of this programWed 18 Nov 2026,5:00–7:00 pm MSTvia CANPREPP source (opens in a new tab)
Interviews
1 date, 23 Jan 2027
Edmonton, 9 teaching sites · required rural rotation
What stands out about this program
Only four fellowship programs in Edmonton, so residents compete with few fellows for operative cases.
From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page
Exposure to less common subspecialties, including transplant, robotic colorectal and oncoplastic breast surgery.
From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page
- The University of Alberta General Surgery residency is a 5-year program based at four teaching hospitals in Edmonton.
- PGY-4 includes a 3-block rural general surgery rotation, with Grande Prairie as the primary rural site.
- Residents must give at least three Annual Research Day presentations, and most of PGY-5 is spent as Lead Resident.
What training looks like
- Setting
- Academic / tertiary hospital
- Urban community
- Regional community
- Rural exposure
- Required rural rotation
- Research
- Required · research project · protected time
By year
- PGY-1
- General Surgery5 blocks
- Orthopedic Surgery/Plastic Surgery1 block each
- Medicine1 block
- Coronary Care Unit1 block
- Pediatric General Surgery1 block
- Anesthesia1 block
- Vacation1 block
- Trauma1 block
- PGY-2
- General Surgery6 blocks
- Intensive Care Unit3 blocks
- Thoracic Surgery2 blocks
- Endoscopy2 blocks
- PGY-3
- General Surgery9 blocks
- Pediatric General Surgery (senior)2 blocks
- Elective2 blocks
- PGY-4
- General Surgery Rural rotation3 blocks
- General Surgery3 blocks
- Lead Resident3 blocks
- Elective2 blocks
- Vascular Surgery2 blocks
- PGY-5
- Lead Residentten blocks
- Transition to Practicethree blocks
Where you train
Edmonton, Alberta: 9 teaching sites; required rural rotation.
- University of Alberta Hospital
- Royal Alexandra Hospital
- Misericordia Community Hospital
- Grey Nuns Community Hospital
- Sturgeon Community Hospital
- Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital (Fort Saskatchewan)
- Chinook Regional Hospital (Lethbridge · rural or distributed site)
- Grande Prairie Regional Hospital (Grande Prairie · rural or distributed site)
- Red Deer Regional Hospital (Red Deer · rural or distributed site)
Record systems at the listed sites: Epic at 8 of 9; no published record for 1.
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: Alberta doesn't publish this as open data.
About Edmonton
People
1,010,899residents, 2021 Census
Housing
3.8%rental vacancy rate
Winter and summer
−10.3 °CJanuary mean18.1 °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)
- 23 Jan 2027
- Format
- Virtual
- Traditional (one on one/two on one)
Info sessions
Wed 18 Nov 2026
5:00–7:00 pm MST
Open house · VirtualCANPREPP source (opens in a new tab)
Fri 22 Jan 2027
time not stated
Social · Virtual · Listed under interviews on CaRMS
Pay and call
| Level | Annual salary |
|---|---|
| PGY-1 | $67,440 / year |
| PGY-2 | $74,153 / year |
| PGY-3 | $80,058 / year |
| PGY-4 | $86,281 / year |
| PGY-5 | $92,698 / year |
Call
- Call (provincial max)
- 1 in 4 in-house
- Post-call rule (provincial)
- No new responsibilities after the 24th hour of duty, apart from handover
- Max continuous duty (provincial)
- 24 consecutive hours, plus 2 hours for handover
Benefits
- Annual vacation
- 4 weeks/yr
- Call Stipends
- weekday in-house – $118.02weekend in-house / holiday – $178.72weekday home call – $59.01weekend home call / holiday – $89.35
- CMPA dues paid
- $1,500
- Dental plan
- 75% premium paid
- Educational leave
- 14 days paid leave
- Extended health insurance
- 75% premium paid$1000 per year Flexible Spending Account*
- Life insurance
- 100% towards $150,000 coverage
- Life Support Course Costs (Program Approved
- 100% paid
- Long-term disability insurance
- 100% paid for 75% gross income
- Maternity Leave
- 18 weeks total (17 weeks paid to match 90% of salary when combined with EI)
- Parental Leave
- 2 weeks leave with full pay and benefits;52 weeks (inclusive of Maternity/Paternity/Adoption Leaves) – unpaid leave
- Practice Stipend
- $1,500
- Provincial dues (% of salary)
- .95%
- Sick leave
- Up to 3 months or to end contract paid leave, whichever occurs first
- Statutory holidays
- Paid days. Additional days off are given if resident works the day before and part of a named holiday.
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 | 7 | 5 years | 1 date, 23 Jan 2027 | Nothing noted |
2026 match
| Stream | Positions | Length | Interviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMG stream | 7 | 5 years | 2 dates, 23–24 Jan 2026 |
The 2026 page of the CMG stream: our summary of its CaRMS description
- The University of Alberta General Surgery Residency Program is a premier 5-year training program designed to produce graduates ready for independent practice in academic or community settings.
- The program offers exceptional operative diversity, comprehensive surgical exposure across multiple subspecialties, and a strong emphasis on research and professional development.
- Research
- Extensive research opportunities with support for graduate degrees through the Clinician Investigator Program, funding available for basic sciences, surgical education, clinical outcomes, and global surgery research.
- Training setting
- Urban academic medical center in Edmonton with multiple teaching hospitals, offering a diverse clinical environment with high surgical case volume across northern Alberta and surrounding regions.
- Teaching approach
- Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) focused on achieving Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) and Milestones, with frequent formative assessments and progressive independence throughout training.
- Enhanced skills
- Not stated on CaRMS page
- What the program looked at
- CV
- Medical Student Performance Record (MSPR)
- Reference letters
- Personal letter
- Research/Publications
- Leadership skills
- Interview performance
Contacts and links
- Program directors
Dr. Michael McCall
Dr. Blaire AndersonAssistant Program Director
- Program office
Program Administrator
Per CaRMS. Staff change during the cycle, so check the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab) before emailing.
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.
General Surgery elsewhere
Nearest to Edmonton
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