carmschanges

#changereversed!

Contacting us from the media?

ITPC Welcomes Court Intervention on Ontario MOH's Discriminatory Eligibility Policy re: CaRMS 2025-2026 R-1 Match First Iteration

On October 8, 2025, the Ontario Ministry of Health implemented a new eligibility policy affecting the 2025-26 CaRMS R-1 residency match cycle across all Ontario programs. Introduced mid-cycle, this policy excludes all Internationally Trained Physicians (ITPs) who did not complete at least two years of Ontario high school. This abrupt change immediately raised serious concerns about fairness, equity, and most importantly, access to care for Ontarians.

Today’s court decision (Dec 4th, 2025) to halt this policy is a critical and necessary intervention. We are thankful that qualified, hard working and deserving ITPs have had their rights upheld. However, it is deeply concerning that such a discriminatory rule had to be challenged in court to protect the basic rights of physicians who already call Ontario home and serve its communities.

ITPs are a vital part of Ontario’s healthcare workforce. They support hospitals, walk-in clinics, long-term care, and underserved communities across the province. At a time of historic physician shortages, exclusionary policies harm both doctors and patients.

While today’s outcome offers temporary relief, it does not resolve the deeper systemic issues including residency selection criteria that do not capture ITP strengths, dysfunctional and fragmented licensure pathways, and persistent bias against immigrant internationally trained physicians. The need for fair, transparent, and evidence-based processes remains urgent. The work continues.

UnCanadian. Unjust. Unacceptable

Contacting us from the media?

Email advocacy@itpsofcanada.ca

Ontario’s Discriminatory Decision to Exclude Immigrant Internationally Trained Physicians from CaRMS 1st Iteration: We’re Calling It Out!

#reversethechange! #openthespots!

After years of ITPC (formerly ITPO) calling for equity and the opening of all residency positions in all specialties to all ITPs, the Government of Ontario has done the exact opposite. Only six weeks before the CaRMS application deadline, the Government of Ontario has imposed a directive that bars immigrant internationally trained physicians (ITPs) from applying in the first iteration of the 2026 residency match.

Only Canadian Studied Abroad (CSAs) but ONLY those who attended high school in Ontario — will be eligible.

Immigrant ITPs, who live, work, and pay taxes in this province, will be forced to wait for the second iteration, when most positions are already filled.

This was not policy improvement.

This was an act of exclusion — deliberate, discriminatory, and devastatingly un-Canadian.