No, becoming a doctor in Canada is not easy; it's highly competitive, especially for international graduates (IMGs) due to limited residency spots, requiring extensive education, exams, and a challenging multi-stage licensure process, although provinces are exploring faster assessment pathways for experienced IMGs to address doctor shortages. Domestic students also face intense competition for limited university seats, necessitating strong grades and MCAT/CASPer scores.
Becoming a doctor in Canada typically takes 10 to 12 years. This includes completing a four-year bachelor's degree, a four-year medical school program, and two to six years of residency training, depending on the specialty.
Canada currently has 17 medical schools. That's under 3,000 spots for thousands of applicants every year. In 2021, about 18% of applicants received at least one offer of admission to a Canadian medical school.
Getting into medical school in Canada is hard. Generally speaking, medical school acceptance rates in Canada are less than 10%. There are some notable variations in medical school acceptance rates in Canada. For example, Queen's University School of Medicine with an average acceptance rate of 1.9%.
The most challenging countries to get into medical school are the United States and Canada.
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The average doctor's salary in Canada ranges between CAD $200k and $340k in 2025.
Global view. In the US alone, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimates a shortage of 91,500 physicians by 2020 and up to 130,600 by the year 2025.
Nearly 70 per cent of Canadians — just over 25 million people — reported being white, making the population the majority almost everywhere in the country, except for Vancouver (42 per cent), Toronto (40.7 per cent), the Northwest Territories (37.9 per cent) and Nunavut (10 per cent).
According to this survey conducted in 2022, physicians in Switzerland were mostly satisfied with their medical practice. That year, nearly 58 percent of Swiss doctors stated to be satisfied with their practice. On the other hand, physicians in the United Kingdom were the least satisfied among surveyed countries.
The minimum GPA for most med schools is 3.0. But if you're a pre-med student, you'll need to aim for a GPA of 3.6 or higher to be a competitive applicant. In 2022-2023, the mean science and overall GPA of matriculants were 3.68 and 3.75, respectively.
Family medicine
Family physicians continue to top the list of in-demand specialties in Canada. They serve as the first point of contact for patients and play a crucial role in providing preventative care, managing chronic conditions and coordinating specialist referrals.
Maybe you're a non-Canadian attracted to the strong education system in Canada—seven Canadian medical schools are ranked in the top 100 in the world by Times Higher Education—giving graduates tremendous freedom to practice internationally.
The highest-paid doctors in the U.S. are neurosurgeons, thoracic surgeons, and orthopedic surgeons. These surgical specialists earn average annual salaries between $650,000 and $760,000, making them the top earners among physicians.
According to the latest 2025 CEOWORLD Health Care Index, Taiwan once again ranks as the country with the best healthcare in the world, maintaining its top position with an overall score of 78.72. South Korea (77.7) and Australia (74.11) remain in second and third place, respectively.
Racially, the composition of U.S. physicians indicates that 56.3% identify as White, 18% as Asian, 8.9% as Hispanic or Latino, and 4.7% as Black or African American.
Countries like Canada, Australia and Germany frequently rank highly for offering structured residency programs open to foreign medical graduates. Canada's Provincial Nominee Programs and Australia's Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme, for example, provide clearer pathways for international physicians.
Doctors. In Australia, top-level doctors may command an average salary of AUD $310,000 annually. In Canada, Doctors average salary is between $88755.00 and $450137.00 per year.
A $100,000 salary is still above Canada's average individual and household salaries, so it's a good income.
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While you can get into medical school without having a 4.0, you will at least need to meet the minimum requirements. Most medical schools have a strict minimum requirement of at least a 3.0 GPA. This means that your application will typically not even be considered if you have less than a 3.0.