A recent change in policy in Ontario has caused uproar among foreign-trained doctors, who were in the final stages of preparing to apply for medical residency positions when the rules were altered.
Under the new regulation, international medical graduates—doctors trained outside of Canada with permanent residency or Canadian citizenship—are now mandated to have attended an accredited Ontario high school for a minimum of two years to qualify for residency positions in the province.
Critics argue that this policy shift is not only unjust but also shortsighted, especially given the shortage of family doctors impacting millions of Ontarians.
Ali Amiri, an international medical graduate from Iran, shared his challenging journey of trying to become a doctor in Canada, which included passing exams, completing observerships, and gearing up to apply for residency. However, the sudden change in eligibility criteria during the application period, which closes at the end of November, has left him and many others feeling disillusioned.
Expressing his frustration, Amiri stated, “It is really, really unfair. It’s really discriminatory, and we do hope that they change it. It’s not something that we thought was going to happen in Ontario. We spent thousands of dollars. We spent a lot of time, and we’ve been under a lot of stress to get to this point.”
Demanding a fair and transparent process, Amiri emphasized the need to revert to the previous policy to ensure equal opportunities for all aspiring residents.
Amidst the healthcare crisis in Ontario, where over 2.5 million residents lack access to a family doctor—a figure projected to rise to four million by 2026 according to the Ontario College of Family Physicians—there is a pressing need for more healthcare professionals.
While the Ministry of Health has noted their efforts to provide additional opportunities for Ontarians who pursued medical education abroad to complete postgraduate training in the province, international medical graduates argue that they are already qualified and eager to contribute to the healthcare system.
The Internationally Trained Physicians of Canada has launched a campaign urging the province to eliminate the high school education requirement for the initial matching round, advocating for immediate policy changes to create more opportunities for foreign-trained doctors.