OMA worried residency policy change could deter international physicians
Written by The Canadian Press on October 14, 2025
TORONTO — The Ontario Medical Association is expressing concern that a new provincial government policy meant to give priority for residency positions to Ontarians could lead to fewer doctors in the system.
The government recently changed rules for international medical school graduates looking to do their residency in Ontario.
There are multiple rounds in which would-be doctors get matched with residency spots and the province will now be saving first-round international graduate spots for people who attended high school in Ontario for at least two years.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones’s office says the change supports Ontario-educated residents who have earned medical degrees elsewhere.
It follows a policy announced last year by Premier Doug Ford that the province’s medical school seats would be mostly reserved for Ontario residents.
Ontario Medical Association president Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman says the policy doesn’t seem to fit with all of the other moves the government is making to try to attract internationally educated physicians to the province, and may cause them to instead practise in other provinces with fewer barriers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2025.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press