Winnipeg - Neurosurgery
University of ManitobaWinnipeg, ManitobaCMG stream
At a glance
- Approx. quota
- 2
- Length
- 6
- Applications per year
- 51–200
- Offered interviews
- 76–100%
CMG stream · open to Canadian medical graduates
Interviews
2 dates, 19–20 Jan 2027
Winnipeg, 4 teaching sites
What stands out about this program
Main training site houses Canada's first Gamma Knife unit, plus an intra-operative MRI suite.
From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page
Five full-time physician assistants support adult neurosurgery inpatient care alongside residents.
From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page
Dedicated one-year M.Sc. in Surgery designed for surgical residents.
From “Program curriculum” on the CaRMS page
- This six-year neurosurgery residency is based at the Health Sciences Centre and Winnipeg Children's Hospital in Winnipeg.
- Off-service rotations include trauma surgery, plastic surgery, surgical ICU, neurology and neuropathology.
- An optional elective year, typically PGY4, can be used for research or subspecialty training, or extended into graduate studies via the Clinician Investigator Program.
- Senior residents oversee the neurosurgery unit as lead resident.
What training looks like
- Setting
- Academic / tertiary hospital
- Rural exposure
- Not stated on CaRMS page
- Research
- Offered · research project · protected time
By year
- PGY-1
- Neurosurgeryminimum 3 blocks
- Gold (trauma) surgery1 block
- Neurology1 block
- Surgical Intensive Care Unit1 block
- additional Neurosurgery serviceremaining time of PGY1
- PGY-2
- Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery1 block
- Neurology1 block
- Neurosurgery
- PGY-3
- Early Research rotationminimum 1 block
- Neurosurgery
- PGY-5
- Neuropathology1-2 blocks
- Neurosurgery
Other rotations
- Neurosurgery service (Transition to Discipline · first 2 blocks)
- Neurosurgery (Core of Discipline – PG4)
- Clinical electives in other disciplines or out-of-province (Core of Discipline – PG4)
- Research/Graduate program (e.g., Clinician-Investigator Program) (Core of Discipline – PG4)
- Neurosurgery (Core of Discipline – PGY6)
- Neurosurgery (Transition to Practice · final 3-6 months of training (PGY6))
Where you train
Winnipeg, Manitoba: 4 teaching sites.
- Health Sciences Centre
- Winnipeg Children’s Hospital
- Concordia Hospital
- Maples Surgical Centre
Record systems at the listed sites: Altera at 3 of 4; no published record for 1.
Moving to a new system: Health Sciences Centre; Winnipeg Children’s Hospital; Concordia Hospital (scheduled 31 Mar 2027 across the province).
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
- Altera Digital Health (EPR), moving to a new system in every hospital by 31 Mar 2027; this hospital’s own date is not published by the province yet
Manitoba's electronic patient record is going into every hospital by the end of March 2027, a hospital at a time (6 of 57 complete as of June 2026). Order entry is not included at this stage.
Hospital size and activity: Manitoba doesn't publish this as open data.
About Winnipeg
People
749,607residents, 2021 Census
Housing
2.8%rental vacancy rate
Winter and summer
−16.3 °CJanuary mean19.5 °CJuly mean
Job outlook
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 stated on CaRMS page. Check the provincial return-of-service rules.
Interviews and info sessions
- Interview dates (2027 match)
- 19 and 20 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.
4 Neurosurgery info sessions at other programsAll info sessions
Pay and call
| Level | Annual salary |
|---|---|
| PGY-1 | $72,171 / year |
| PGY-2 | $77,416 / year |
| PGY-3 | $83,372 / year |
| PGY-4 | $89,329 / year |
| PGY-5 | $95,285 / year |
| PGY-6 | $101,119 / year |
Call
- Call (provincial max)
- 7 calls per 4-week block, in-house and home call combined
- Post-call rule (provincial)
- No duty hours before 06:00 the next calendar day, after in-hospital call
- Max continuous duty (provincial)
- 26 consecutive hours (24, plus 2 for handover)
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 | 6 years | 2 dates, 19–20 Jan 2027 | Nothing noted |
2026 match
| Stream | Positions | Length | Interviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMG stream | 2 | 6 years | 2 dates, 20–21 Jan 2026 |
The 2026 page of the CMG stream: our summary of its CaRMS description
- The University of Manitoba Neurosurgery Residency Program offers comprehensive training at the Health Sciences Centre and Winnipeg Children's Hospital, providing residents with exposure to the full range of neurosurgical subspecialties.
- The program emphasizes progressive clinical responsibility, research opportunities, and competency-based medical education across a six-year training period.
- Research
- Extensive research training through Clinician Investigator Program, with opportunities for MSc, PhD, and focused research year in PGY4
- Training setting
- Urban academic medical center at Health Sciences Centre and Winnipeg Children's Hospital, serving as the sole neurosurgical referral center for Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario, and Nunavut.
- Teaching approach
- Competency-based medical education with incrementally increasing clinical responsibility, emphasizing workplace-based assessments, frequent formative feedback, and milestone-driven progression.
- Enhanced skills
- Not stated on CaRMS page
- What the program looked at
- CV review
- Elective experiences
- Research/publications
- Leadership potential
- Reference letters
- Personal letter
- Interview performance
Contacts and links
- Program director
Dr. Annie Drapeau
- 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.
Neurosurgery elsewhere
Nearest to Winnipeg
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