November 18, 2025
Gélinas: Creating Barriers for Internationally Trained Physicians Only Harms Patients
QUEEN’S PARK – During today’s Question Period, NDP Shadow Minister for Health France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) questioned Minister of Health Sylvia Jones’ decision to disqualifies International Medical Graduates (IMG) who did not attend an Ontario high school from the first round of residency applications.
“Ontario is facing a severe shortage of family doctors with 2.5 million residents without access to primary care. Yet the government has introduced a last-minute policy preventing most internationally trained physicians from applying in the first round of residency placements, despite the fact that 60% of IMGs choose family medicine and have to go work in an underserved community. Why is this government creating new barriers that will reduce the number of doctors available to Ontarians?” MPP Gélinas asked.
Internationally trained physicians and their supporters joined MPP Gélinas in the Queen’s Park media studio before question period to explain their position that the ban is discriminatory and shortsighted.
“The government’s new rule disqualifies IMGs from the first round of residency applications based solely on where they attended high school a factor that has nothing to do with medical competence and disproportionately harms francophones, immigrants, racialized physicians, and Canadians who studied abroad due to family circumstances. How does this government justify an exclusionary, non–evidence-based policy that restricts equity in medical training, and ultimately harms patient care in Ontario?”
The application period for the first round of residency placements in Ontario closes on November 27th.
