Second CaRMS round: 181 vacancies, including 139 in family medicine

The years go by. And unfortunately, they all seem the same. Following the second round of the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) primary matching process, 181 residency positions remain vacant across the country, including 139 in family medicine. In other words, more than three-quarters of the unfilled positions in Canada (76.8%) are in primary care.Quebec is the epicentre of the problem: 126 of the 139 vacant family medicine positions nationwide, or 90.6%, remain vacant after the second round (compared to 151 after the first). If we consider each medical school individually, this total rises to 129, as it includes, among others, 3 positions in Greater Moncton affiliated with the University of Sherbrooke.In other words, between the first and second rounds of matching, only 25 family medicine positions were filled in Quebec, compared to 92 across Canada.The contrast with the two previous years is striking. In 2025, the second round of recruitment left 94 vacancies in family medicine across Canada, 69 of which were in Quebec. In 2024, there were 75 vacancies nationwide, 70 of which were in Quebec. The total number of vacancies in Canada thus jumped by 47.9% compared to 2025. Meanwhile, the Quebec total climbed by 82.6% compared to the 69 vacancies last year.Across all specialties, the four Quebec medical schools remain burdened by the situation in family medicine. Laval University has 60 vacancies, the University of Montreal 42, Sherbrooke 37, and McGill 20. Together, they account for 159 of the 181 vacancies identified in Canada, representing 87.8% of the total.In family medicine, several regions and resident training sites stand out negatively. Richelieu-Yamaska has 10 vacancies, Gatineau 9, the Eskers of Amos 9, North Lanaudière 7 and the Laval multisite program 7. In Chaudière-Appalaches, Etchemin and Lévis alone account for 12 vacancies.Outside of family medicine, unfilled residency positions remain much more dispersed. These include:11 positions in psychiatry4 in general surgery3 in medical genetics and genomics3 in obstetrics and gynecology3 in urologyThese figures come a few months after Quebec announced 24 additional residency positions, for a total of 1,008, including 554 in family medicine. It remains to be seen whether this increase in the number of positions will one day translate into a real increase in the number of residents, as the province has struggled for several years to fill its family medicine positions, and the Quebec Federation of General Practitioners estimates the shortage at approximately 2,000 family physicians.The figures presented correspond to the data published by CaRMS following the second round of the matching process, which came out Tuesday at noon (they can be consulted here). Some faculties indicate, however, that these figures may have changed since then, particularly with the integration of international graduates or internal adjustments to the programs.This article has been translated from its original French and was first published on our sister site Profession Santé.

Second CaRMS round: 181 vacancies, including 139 in family medicine

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