ITPC

Canada’s healthcare system is experiencing sustained physician workforce shortages, reflected in reduced access to primary care, periodic emergency department closures, and growing pressure on healthcare delivery systems. The core challenge is not a shortage of qualified physicians. Rather, it is the absence of a structured and consistent pathway that enables ITPs progression from supervised clinical work to independent licensure. A ladder-to-licensure model addresses this ga

From January to April 2026, ITPC advanced a coordinated national advocacy strategy focused on reducing systemic barriers faced by internationally trained physicians (ITPs). Throughout this period, ITPC strengthened its role as a key national voice by grounding its advocacy in evidence from its Specialist ITP Report, ensuring that stakeholder engagement, policy discussions, and recommendations were consistently data-driven and reflective of real-world ITP experiences.

Internationally Trained Physicians of Canada (ITPC) welcomes the Government of Ontario’s decision to rescind the eligibility policy introduced on October 8, 2025, which impacted the 2025–2026 CaRMS R-1 residency match cycle across all Ontario programs.

From January to December 2025, Internationally Trained Physicians in Canada (ITPC) advanced sustained, coordinated advocacy at municipal, provincial, and national levels to address systemic barriers faced by internationally trained physicians (ITPs). Advocacy efforts spanned research, policy engagement, public education, legal action, and grassroots mobilization.

Canada’s Ethical Framework for the Recruitment and Retention of Internationally Educated Health Professionals (IEHPs) was developed to guide ethical and responsible practices in response to global health workforce shortages. Grounded in the WHO Global Code of Practice, the framework outlines principles and voluntary standards to support governments, regulators, employers, and partners in recruiting, integrating, and retaining IEHPs.

Specialist ITPs are diverse, experienced and highly skilled. With training from 45 countries around the globe, almost 90% of the respondent ITPs have more than three years of specialist training, and over half have more than five years of independent clinical practice. Although skilled ITP specialists have various pathways available in Canada, a labyrinth of barriers prevent most of them from accessing licensure; these barriers however are not without actionable solutions!

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

An Ontario judge has given a temporary lifeline to international medical school graduates who would have been excluded from qualifying for the first round of matching for medical school residency placements under the province's controversial new rule.

The Medical Council of Canada (MCC) has announced significant updates to the process for obtaining the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC), changes that aim to simplify, modernize, and accelerate one of the key steps in the licensure pathway for physicians.

A decade of global experience, top exam scores, and a Canadian citizenship — yet Ontario’s new medical residency rule now excludes Dr. Ashok Biswas from even applying in the first round. His story exposes how the system pushes internationally trained doctors to the margins while our communities face a worsening doctor shortage.

Leadership is measured at inflection points — and Canada is facing one right now. With the CaRMS residency application deadline just two weeks away, Ontario’s decision to restrict Internationally Trained Physicians (ITPs) from the match is not simply a policy adjustment. It is a tipping point. What happens in the coming days will determine the future of thousands of physicians — and the stability of Canada’s healthcare system.

ITPC Director Dr. Therese Bichay speaks at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health on the Impact of Immigration Policy on healthcare and Barriers to Integrating Internationally Trained Physicians.

When the Ontario Minister of Health, Hon. Sylvia Jones, stood in the Legislature on October 21 2025 and declared she was “proud” of the new CaRMS directive. She may have revealed more than she intended. This directive promotes classism as it divides ITPs by level of “Canadian-ness”. It serves up leftovers to immigrant ITPs by only allowing them access to leftover residency spots. It reeks of discrimination. Therefore, we ask, sincerely: What exactly is the Minister proud o

ITPC Director Dr. Therese Bichay talks to CHCH News about the exclusionary criteria being used to separate ITPs in Ontario. “For sure, I will try other provinces,” said Dr. Therese Bichay, from the Internationally Trained Physicians of Canada.

ITPC Member Dr. Mohamed Iesa talks about the damage to his career and family plans caused by the discriminatory change against Internationally Trained Physicians, who are Canadian citizens, that excludes them from accessing residency as a path to licensure until the majority of residency spots are gone. <<Pour moi, c'est comme si j'avais vu passer ma chance sans pouvoir faire quoi que ce soit.>> Dr. Nathalia Silveira

Résidence médicale : des étudiants étrangers dénoncent une mesure de l’Ontario <<Pour moi, c'est comme si j'avais vu passer ma chance sans pouvoir faire quoi que ce soit.>> Dr. Nathalia Silveira

ITPC Member Dr. Nathalia Silveira, speaks to CTV Your Morning's Anne-Marie Mediwake about the discriminatory changes against Internationally Trained Physicians, who are Canadian citizens, that excludes them from accessing residency as a path to licensure until the majority of residency spots are gone.

ITPC Director Dr. Therese Bichay, speaks to CBC radio about the discriminatory changes against Internationally Trained Physicians, who are Canadian citizens, that excludes them from accessing residency as a path to licensure until the majority of residency spots are gone.

The Ministry’s reference to “Ontario-educated residents” ignores that many immigrant physicians already hold Ontario diplomas, master’s degrees, and PhDs — making “education geography” an unlawful stand-in for national origin.

Ontario’s latest residency-match directive is discriminatory and deeply un-Canadian; it excludes the very thing Ontario residents need the most: doctors!