Halifax - General Surgery

Dalhousie UniversityHalifax, Nova ScotiaCMG stream

Program websiteWebsite CANPREPPCANPREPP

Open on carms.ca

CaRMS program description, 2026 match, last approved 9 Oct 2025

From the 2026 match (R-1 2026). See the 2027 version

Positions (approx. quota): 5 positions
Length: 5 years
Stream: CMG
Discipline: General Surgery
Applications per year: 51–200
Applicants offered interviews: 51–75%
Accreditation: Accredited
CaRMS program ID: 29399

Bands are 5-year averages the program reports to CaRMS. They describe past cycles, not your odds.

Summary

Dalhousie University's General Surgery residency program offers comprehensive training in Maritime-based general surgery. Over five years, residents gain extensive exposure to multi-organ transplant, minimally invasive surgery, surgical oncology, and acute care surgery, preparing them for community or subspecialty practice.

Training

Research

Residents are expected to present at least two research abstracts during their five-year program, with options to join the Clinical Investigator Program for a funded Masters Degree.

Training setting

Training primarily occurs in Halifax, with significant community rotations in New Brunswick hospitals including Saint John, Fredericton, and Moncton. Residents experience both urban academic and community surgical settings.

Teaching approach

Competency-based medical education with progressive independence, emphasizing clinical skills, research, and comprehensive surgical training across multiple subspecialties.

Setting types

Academic medical center
Community hospitals
Tertiary care center

Focus areas

Multi-organ transplant
Minimally invasive surgery
Surgical oncology
Colorectal surgery
Acute care surgery

Patient populations

Surgical patients
Transplant patients
Oncology patients
Acute care patients
Community surgical patients

Highlights

Clinical Investigator Program (CIP) with funded Masters Degree
CSI certification for colonoscopy training
Surgical Skills Center open 24/7
6-8 wet labs per year with cadaver/simulation
Community rotations in New Brunswick

Strengths

Comprehensive surgical training
Diverse rotation experiences
Strong community and subspecialty exposure
Research opportunities
Flexible career pathway support

Enhanced skills

Clinical Investigator Program
Masters Degree opportunity
Subspecialty exposure

By year

PGY-1

General SurgeryHalifax and Saint John28 weeks
Medical SpecialtiesHalifax8 weeks
Surgical SpecialtiesHalifax8 weeks
Emergency MedicineHalifax4 weeks

PGY-2

GI EndoscopyFredericton8 weeks
VascularHalifax8 weeks
Trauma and Acute Care SurgeryHalifax8 weeks
TransplantHalifax8 weeks
ThoracicHalifax8 weeks
Critical CareHalifax8 weeks

PGY-3

General SurgeryHalifax12 months
General SurgeryMoncton3-6 months
ElectivesVariousUp to 6 months

PGY-4

General SurgeryHalifax12 months
General SurgeryMoncton3-6 months
ElectivesVariousUp to 6 months

PGY-5

Senior Residency ChiefHalifaxFull year

From the program's rotation list.

Selection

What the program looks at

CV and publications
Clinical evaluations
Extra-curricular activities
Leadership skills
Medical Student Performance Record (MSPR)
Reference letters
Research interest
Academic transcripts

Applications per year

51–200

Applicants offered interviews

51–75%

Interviews

Dates (2026 match): 3 Feb 2026

Programs can change interview dates. Confirm on carms.ca.

Pay

Provincial scale, last updated 24 Jul 2026 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Annual salary by PGY level, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island
Level	Annual salary
PGY-1	$78,578 / year
PGY-2	$83,904 / year
PGY-3	$89,462 / year
PGY-4	$95,485 / year
PGY-5	$101,926 / year

One provincial scale for Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, set by the resident agreement, so every program there pays the same. Showing the 5 levels this program covers.

Benefits

Benefits as listed by CaRMS in 2022–2024; check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Annual vacation: 4 weeks
Call stipend: Yes
CMPA dues paid: Yes
Dental coverage: Yes
Educational leave: Yes
Extended health insurance: Yes
Frequency of call: l in 4 in-hospital and for homecall
Life insurance: $100,000 of insurance
Long-term disabilityinsurance: 66.7% of salary
Maternity leave top up after one year’s service: eligible for up to a maximum of 17 weeks top-up allowance for maternity/pregnancy leave
Provincial dues (% of salary): 1.30%
Provincial health insurance: Yes
Sick leave: Yes
Statutory and floating holidays: paid

Call

Call (provincial max): 1 night in 4 in-house

The union agreement’s cap for all residents in the province; your program’s actual call schedule may be lighter. Check with the program.

MarDocs agreement, 1 Jul 2024 to 30 Jun 2027.

Teaching sites

QEII Health Sciences Centre
Victoria General Site
Hospitals in Saint John, NB
Hospitals in Fredericton, NB
Hospitals in Moncton, NB

Hospital facts

Public figures for hospitals named above, each with its source and reference period. They describe the hospital, not the program, and are not a ranking. We match names to the province’s lists by name, so check each source before you rely on it.

QEII Health Sciences Centre

This name covers 2 hospitals in the province’s lists. Each is shown on its own, A to Z, and the numbers are never added together.

QEII - Halifax Infirmary Site (Halifax)

Hospital type: Tertiary As the province lists it. The list has no volumes or beds.

QEII - Victoria General (VG) Site (Halifax)

Hospital type: Tertiary As the province lists it. The list has no volumes or beds.

Sources and licences

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Nova Scotia.

Contacts

Contacts weren't collected for the 2026 match.

The current program director and contacts are on the 2027 version of this program and on the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab).

Location

Halifax, Nova Scotia

About the city

Public statistics for the place named by this program’s location label, each with its source and reference period. They describe the place, not the program, and are not a ranking. Check each source before you rely on it.

Climate

Canadian Climate Normals, 1991–2020. Each value comes from the nearest weather station that reports it, not from the city itself.

January average: −4.1 °C Shearwater, 11.0 km away
July average: 18.5 °C Shearwater, 11.0 km away
Snowfall: 215.2 cm a year Halifax Stanfield (Airport), 20.9 km away
Days below −20 °C: 0.9 days a year Shearwater, 11.0 km away

People

2021 Census. Figures are for the municipality of Halifax, not the metropolitan area. Statistics Canada rounds counts, so small places are approximate.

Population: 439,819 people up 9.1% from 2016
Official languages: English only 87.1% · French only 0.1% · English and French 12.2% · neither 0.6% Share of residents who can conduct a conversation in each. This is not the language spoken at home.
Immigrants: 11.6% of residents arrived 2016–2021: 4.1% · non-permanent residents: 3.9%
Indigenous identity: 3.8% of residents
How people commute: car, truck or van 81.5% · public transit 8.1% · walking or cycling 8.0% · other 2.4% Average commute: 21.4 minutes. Shares are of people who commute.The way Canadians commute was altered in 2021 by the pandemic, with lockdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19 and changes in how and where Canadians worked leading to 2.8 million fewer commuters, compared with five years earlier. Statistics Canada, The Daily, 30 Nov 2022(opens in a new tab)
Median household income: $81,000 before tax $69,500 after tax · income year 2020, in 2020 dollars

Rural and remote

This describes the place named by the program’s location label. Programs can train in several towns, so it is not every site.

Population centre: Halifax, a large urban population centre (100,000 or more people) 348,634 people in 2021
Remoteness index: 0.199 0 is least remote, 1 is most remote. Statistics Canada calls this index experimental.

Housing, cost and work

Each figure names the area it covers. A missing line means the source publishes nothing for this area.

Rental vacancy rate: 2.6% October 2025 survey, Halifax, Nova Scotia (census metropolitan area). The share of purpose-built rentals (three units and over) vacant, not a rent.
Basic cost of living: $54,855 a year Market Basket Measure 2025, Halifax, Nova Scotia, for two adults with two children. A modest, basic basket (the poverty line), not a resident’s budget. A size-class region is not the town itself.
Unemployment rate: 5.8% September 2026, three-month average, seasonally adjusted, Halifax, Nova Scotia (census metropolitan area); standard error 0.5 points. A survey estimate.

Job outlook

Employment and Social Development Canada’s rating for the occupation in the economic region. It is not a count of jobs, and says nothing about CaRMS positions or your match.

Outlook, 2025–2027: Very good The employment outlook will be Very good for specialists in surgery (NOC 31101) in the Halifax region for the 2025-2027 period.
Canada-wide, to 2033: Strong risk of Shortage ESDC’s projection for specialists in surgery, 2024–2033. Recent conditions, 2021–2023: Strong signs of Shortage.

Sources and licences

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Adapted from Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Cartographic Boundary Files.
Adapted from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Rental Market Survey, October 2025 (vacancy rates), and Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0130-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation or Statistics Canada of this product.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada (Employment and Social Development Canada, Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS), 2024 to 2033 projections).
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada (Canadian Climate Normals 1991-2020).
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada (Employment and Social Development Canada, 3-Year Employment Outlooks).
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Index of Remoteness (17-26-0001), 2021. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 14-10-0459-01 Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area, three-month moving average, seasonally adjusted, reference month 2026-09. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0066-01 Market Basket Measure (MBM) thresholds for the reference family by Market Basket Measure region, component and base year, 2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0011-01 Population and dwelling counts: Canada and population centres, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0002-01 Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0057-01 Household income statistics by household type: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0173-01 Mother tongue by knowledge of official languages: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0266-01 Indigenous identity by Registered or Treaty Indian status: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0307-01 Immigrant status and period of immigration by place of birth: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0458-01 Main mode of commuting by commuting duration, time leaving for work, age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.

Independent. Not affiliated with CaRMS or the program. Programs edit their descriptions during the match; confirm on carms.ca (opens in a new tab) before you apply. Data last updated on residency.fyi 5 Oct 2026.