Ottawa - Ophthalmology

University of OttawaOttawa, Ontario

Approx. quota: CMG stream2 positions
IMG stream1 position
Length: 5 years
Applications per year: 51–200
Offered interviews: 0–25%

CMG stream · open to Canadian medical graduates

IMG stream · open to international medical graduates

Return of service: Required

IMG requirement: Assessment by a provincial clinical assessment program details under How they choose

Open house

details

Tue 3 Nov 2026,7:00 pm EDTvia CANPREPP source (opens in a new tab)

Interviews

1 date, 3 Feb 2027virtual

Not stated on the IMG stream’s CaRMS page

Ottawa, CMG stream: 9 teaching sites · IMG stream: 7 teaching sites · optional rural rotation

Program website Instagram CANPREPP profile CaRMS program page

What stands out about this program

Residents can participate in refractive surgery.
From “FAQ” on the CaRMS page
Elective rotation at the Baffin Program in Iqaluit, Nunavut, where senior residents act as primary surgeons for minor procedures.
From “FAQ” on the CaRMS page
Five-day orbital anatomy course with cadaver orbit dissection.
From “FAQ” on the CaRMS page

The University of Ottawa ophthalmology residency is a five-year program with a broad-based PGY-1 followed by four core ophthalmology years.
Residents train at three academic hospital sites in Ottawa, including a four-month pediatric ophthalmology rotation at CHEO in PGY-3.
Surgical simulation begins in PGY-2, and residents have about a half day per week of protected research time from PGY-2 to PGY-4.

The summary is written by CdnMD from the program’s CaRMS description.

What training looks like

Setting: Academic / tertiary hospital
Urban community
Rural exposure: Optional rural rotation
Research: Required · research project · protected time

By year

PGY-1: Toronto Ophthalmology Introductory Course (TORIC)Toronto2 month
elective blockfour week
ophthalmology clinicstwo weeks
comprehensive ophthalmology
general medicine
ER
endocrinology
ENT
neurology
plastic surgery
pediatric emergency
rheumatology
dermatology
adult emergency
PGY-2: comprehensive ophthalmology clinicsRiverside Eye Care Centre (RECC)half of their PGY2 year
Ophthalmic Diagnosticsa block
pediatric ophthalmologyChildren's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)one month
PGY-3: Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus surgeryCHEOfour-month
PGY-4: community blockcommunity ophthalmology private practice
PGY-5: glaucoma2-3 blocks
neuro-ophthalmology2-3 blocks
retina/uveitis2-3 blocks
oculoplastics2-3 blocks
cornea and anterior segment, including advanced cataract and refractive surgery2-3 blocks

PGY-1: Toronto Ophthalmology Introductory Course (TORIC)Toronto2 month period
elective blockfour week
ophthalmology clinicstwo weeks
comprehensive ophthalmology
general medicine
ER
endocrinology
ENT
neurology
plastic surgery
pediatric emergency
rheumatology
dermatology
adult emergency
PGY-2: community ophthalmology settingRiverside Eye Care Centre (RECC)half of their PGY2 year
Ophthalmic Diagnosticsa block
pediatric ophthalmologyChildren's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)
PGY-3: pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus surgeryChildren's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)four to five months
Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus surgeryCHEOfour-month
PGY-4: learning cataract surgeryRiverside Eye Care Centre (RECC)four months
community blockcommunity ophthalmology private practice
PGY-5: glaucoma2-3 blocks
neuro-ophthalmology2-3 blocks
retina/uveitis2-3 blocks
oculoplastics2-3 blocks
cornea and anterior segment, including advanced cataract and refractive surgery2-3 blocks
pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus surgeryChildren's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)one to two months

✓ = the CaRMS page states it; – = not stated. From the program description and its rotation list.

Where you train

Ottawa, Ontario: CMG stream: 9 teaching sites · IMG stream: 7 teaching sites; optional rural rotation.

University of Ottawa Eye Institute, The Ottawa Hospital - General Campus
Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Riverside Eye Care Center, The Ottawa Hospital - Riverside Campus
Baffin Program - Iqaluit, Nunavut (Iqaluit · rural or distributed site)
Precision Cornea Centre
Precision Glaucoma Centre
Retina Centre of Ottawa
Ottawa Ophthalmology
Focus Eye Centre

University of Ottawa Eye Institute, The Ottawa Hospital - General Campus
Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Riverside Eye Care Center, The Ottawa Hospital - Riverside Campus
Baffin Program - Iqaluit, Nunavut (Iqaluit · rural or distributed site)
Precision Cornea Centre
Precision Glaucoma Centre
Retina Centre of Ottawa

Record systems at the listed sites: Epic at 3 of 9; no published record for 6.

Hospital facts

3 sites · clinical record systems where an official source states them

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 (Atlas Alliance shared system), system named (how far it goes is not stated) As of 31 Oct 2026. At University of Ottawa Eye Institute, The Ottawa Hospital - General Campus, Riverside Eye Care Center, The Ottawa Hospital - Riverside Campus.

Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Clinical record: Epic, system named (how far it goes is not stated) As of 31 Oct 2026

Verify with the official source: each source button opens the publisher’s own page.

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

About Ottawa

People
1,017,449residents, 2021 Census
Municipality of Ottawa
Housing
2.9%rental vacancy rate
October 2025 survey, Ottawa-Gatineau, Ontario part, Ontario/Quebec (census agglomeration)
Winter and summer
−9.6 °CJanuary mean21.3 °CJuly mean
1991–2020 normals, Ottawa (City), 5.1 km away
Job outlook
Goodfor the specialty here, 2025–2027

More about Ottawa (its page: housing, getting around, weather, things to do, and every program that names it)

Sites as the program’s CaRMS page lists them. City figures are public statistics for the place named by the location; they describe the place, not the program.

How they choose

Application file components: CV
Electives
Examinations
Extra-curricular
Leadership skills
MSPRs
Personal letters
Reference documents
Research/Publications
Transcripts
Return of service, CMG stream: Not stated on CaRMS page. Check the provincial return-of-service rules.
Return of service, IMG stream: Required
IMG requirements, IMG stream: Assessment by a provincial clinical assessment program

Application file components as each stream’s CaRMS page describes them.

Interviews and info sessions

Interview dates (2027 match), CMG stream: 3 Feb 2027
Interview dates (2027 match), IMG stream: Not stated on the IMG stream’s CaRMS page
Format: Virtual
Panel
MMI or rotating station

Info sessions

Tue 3 Nov 2026
7:00 pm EDT
Open house · VirtualCANPREPP source (opens in a new tab)

From the program’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab), read 20 Oct 2026; a row tagged CANPREPP is on CANPREPP’s events calendar (read 24 Oct 2026), alone or as well. Dates and times are as the program wrote them; “your time” is worked out in your browser when your time zone differs. Programs add and change sessions.

Pay and call

Provincial scale, last updated 6 Jan 2025 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab). Contract expired, may change. One provincial scale for Ontario, set by the resident agreement, so every program there pays the same. Showing the 5 levels this program covers.

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

How provincial pay and rent compare

Call

Call (provincial max): 7 nights in 28 in-house
Post-call rule (provincial): No new patient responsibilities after 24 hours in-hospital, except what clinical handover needs
Max continuous duty (provincial): 24 hours in-hospital, then relieved after handover (up to 2 hours)

The union agreement’s limits and rules for all residents in the province; your program’s actual call schedule may be lighter. PARO agreement, 1 Jul 2023 to 30 Jun 2026. The term has ended; its terms continue until a new agreement is signed. Read as of 1 Oct 2026.

Past matches

No repeated vacancies in CaRMS’s lists of open positions, 2019–2026.

Positions at this site, all streams.

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.

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)).

Year by year

2027 match

The 2027 match, one row per stream (scrolls sideways on narrow screens)
Stream	Positions	Length	Interviews	What changed
CMG stream	2	5 years	1 date, 3 Feb 2027Virtual	Nothing noted
IMG stream	1	5 years	Virtual	Nothing noted

2026 match

The 2026 match, one row per stream (scrolls sideways on narrow screens)
Stream	Positions	Length	Interviews
CMG stream	2	5 years	1 date, 7 Feb 2026
IMG stream	1	5 years	Interviews not stated

The 2026 page of the CMG stream: our summary of its CaRMS description

The University of Ottawa offers a comprehensive 5-year ophthalmology residency program designed to produce high-quality ophthalmologists through extensive clinical training, surgical exposure, and research opportunities.
Residents train across multiple sites, gaining broad experience in subspecialties and benefiting from early surgical training, dedicated research time, and a supportive learning environment.

Research: Residents have dedicated half-day per week for research from PGY-2 to PGY-4, with support for conference presentations and research funding.
Training setting: Residents train across multiple academic and community sites in Ottawa, including University of Ottawa Eye Institute, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Riverside Eye Care Center, and community practices, providing comprehensive clinical exposure.
Teaching approach: Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) with progressive independence, emphasizing hands-on experience, direct observation, didactic teaching, and structured evaluation to develop well-rounded ophthalmologists.
Enhanced skills: Not stated on CaRMS page
What the program looked at: CV
Electives
Examinations
Extra-curricular activities
Leadership skills
Medical Student Performance Record
Personal letter
Reference documents
Research/Publications
Transcripts

Positions, length and interviews as each match’s CaRMS pages stated them; what changed from our comparison of the two matches and our readings of the 2027 pages.

Contacts and links

Program directors: Dr. Michael Dollin
Dr. Matthew QuinnAssistant Program Director
CaRMS lists no email for the directors.
Program office: Education Program Coordinator
Write to the officeophthalmology.education@toh.ca

Per CaRMS. Staff change during the cycle, so check the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab) before emailing.

Program websiteWebsite CANPREPPCANPREPPdescribes academic half-dayFrom the programThis program on CaRMS

Ophthalmology elsewhere

Nearest to Ottawa

Kingston - OphthalmologyQueen’s University
Kingston · 146 km
3 positions · CMG
Montreal - OphthalmologyMcGill University
Montreal, QC · 166 km
5 positions · Regular
Bilingual
Toronto - OphthalmologyUniversity of Toronto
Toronto · 352 km
5 positions · CMG, IMG

Source

The CMG stream’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab), last approved 8 Sep 2026 · The IMG stream’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab), last approved 8 Sep 2026 · 2027 match · not final until file review opens 26 November; as of 19 Oct 2026, re-checked every two weeks.

Notice of intent to withdraw accreditation · CaRMS program IDs 35753 (CMG stream), 35711 (IMG stream) · How these pages are made › · See the 2026 match under Year by year

The Applications per year and Offered interviews figures are 5-year averages the program reports to CaRMS: past cycles, not your odds.

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 24 Oct 2026.

Did this page answer your question?

For the CMG streamIMG stream · change

At a glance