Hamilton - Emergency Medicine

McMaster UniversityHamilton, OntarioCMG stream

Program websiteWebsite CANPREPPCANPREPP4 more links

Open on carms.ca

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

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

Positions (approx. quota): 8 positions
Length: 5 years
Stream: CMG
Discipline: Emergency Medicine
Applications per year: 51–200
Applicants offered interviews: 26–50%
Accreditation: Accredited
CaRMS program ID: 30235

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

Summary

The McMaster University Emergency Medicine Program offers a comprehensive 5-year Royal College training experience across multiple hospitals in Hamilton, Ontario. Residents receive extensive clinical training in emergency medicine, with opportunities for subspecialty training, research, and leadership development in a high-volume, high-acuity environment.

Training

Research

Residents are required to complete at least one academic project suitable for peer-review and are encouraged to present at national and international meetings.

Training setting

Training occurs across multiple urban hospitals in Hamilton, including Hamilton General Hospital, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Juravinski Hospital, McMaster Children's Hospital, and several community sites.

Teaching approach

Utilizes Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) with a focus on progressive skill development, frequent formative assessments, and tailored learning experiences that prepare residents for independent practice.

Setting types

Academic medical center
Tertiary care center
Community hospitals
Pediatric referral center
Trauma center

Focus areas

Emergency Medicine
Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Trauma
Critical Care
Point of Care Ultrasound
EMS
Subspecialty Training

Patient populations

Trauma patients
Pediatric patients
Oncology patients
Psychiatric patients
Inner city populations
Complex medical patients
Marginalized populations

Highlights

Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME)
Ultrasound Course/Rotation
Simulation Training
Critical Care Day
Disaster Day Simulation
Transition to Practice Curriculum
Annual Resident Retreat
EMS Rotation
Practice Exams
Research Curriculum
Bootcamp Curriculum
Wellness Curriculum
IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism) Curriculum

Strengths

Comprehensive 5-year training program
Multiple high-volume teaching sites
Strong academic and research support
Emphasis on wellness and inclusivity
Flexible Area of Focused Competence in PGY-5
Robust simulation and skills training
Commitment to equity and diversity

Enhanced skills

Trauma
Toxicology
Critical Care
Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Sports Medicine
Simulation
Point of Care Ultrasound
International Health
Pre-Hospital Care
Administration
Research
Disaster Medicine
Wilderness Medicine
Medical Education
Tropical Medicine
Quality Improvement
Hyperbaric Medicine
Geriatric Emergency Medicine

By year

PGY-1

Emergency MedicineMultiple hospitalsComprehensive basic clinical training
Pediatric Emergency MedicineMcMaster Children's HospitalPart of comprehensive training
Internal MedicineMultiple hospitalsPart of comprehensive training
General SurgeryMultiple hospitalsPart of comprehensive training
AnesthesiaMultiple hospitalsPart of comprehensive training
Obstetrics and GynecologyMultiple hospitalsPart of comprehensive training

PGY-2

Point of Care UltrasoundEmergency Departments2-4 week block
Emergency MedicineMultiple hospitalsMajority of year
EMS CurriculumVarious EMS servicesPart of year
Critical CareMultiple hospitalsBlocks

PGY-3

Selective RotationsVarious departments3 blocks
Community Emergency MedicineCommunity hospitalsBlocks
Critical CareMultiple hospitalsBlocks
TraumaMultiple hospitalsBlocks

PGY-4

Emergency MedicineMultiple hospitalsMinimum 10 blocks
Pediatric Emergency MedicineMcMaster Children's Hospital2 blocks

PGY-5

Area of Focused CompetenceVaries6-12 months
Emergency MedicineMultiple hospitalsTransition to Practice

From the program's rotation list.

Selection

What the program looks at

CV and extracurricular activities
Elective experiences
Reference letters
Personal letter
Interview performance
Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)
Collaboration skills
Communication skills
Leadership potential
Professionalism

Applications per year

51–200

Applicants offered interviews

26–50%

Interviews

Dates (2026 match): 20 and 21 Jan 2026

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

Pay

Provincial scale, last updated 6 Jan 2025 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Contract expired, may change.

Annual salary by PGY level, Ontario
Level	Annual salary
PGY-1	$73,367 / year
PGY-2	$79,670 / year
PGY-3	$85,564 / year
PGY-4	$92,701 / year
PGY-5	$98,567 / year

One provincial scale for Ontario, set by the resident agreement, so every program there pays the same. Showing the 5 levels this program covers.

Call

Call (provincial max): 7 nights in 28 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.

PARO agreement, 1 Jul 2023 to 30 Jun 2026. The term has ended; its terms continue until a new agreement is signed.

Hospital facts

Hospital size and activity: Ontario doesn't publish this as open data.

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

Hamilton, Ontario

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: −3.1 °C Burlington Piers, 5.0 km away
July average: 21.9 °C Burlington Piers, 5.0 km away
Snowfall: 114.5 cm a year Toronto Pearson (Airport), 49.4 km away
Days below −20 °C: 0.7 days a year Burlington Piers, 5.0 km away

People

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

Population: 569,353 people up 6.0% from 2016
Official languages: English only 92.3% · French only 0.1% · English and French 5.8% · neither 1.9% Share of residents who can conduct a conversation in each. This is not the language spoken at home.
Immigrants: 25.9% of residents arrived 2016–2021: 3.6% · non-permanent residents: 2.3%
Indigenous identity: 2.2% of residents
How people commute: car, truck or van 85.4% · public transit 7.4% · walking or cycling 5.2% · other 2.0% Average commute: 25.3 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: $86,000 before tax $75,500 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: Hamilton, a large urban population centre (100,000 or more people) 729,560 people in 2021
Remoteness index: 0.066 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: 3.5% October 2025 survey, Hamilton, Ontario (census metropolitan area). The share of purpose-built rentals (three units and over) vacant, not a rent.
Basic cost of living: $59,504 a year Market Basket Measure 2025, Hamilton/Burlington, Ontario, 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: 6.9% September 2026, three-month average, seasonally adjusted, Hamilton, Ontario (census metropolitan area); standard error 0.7 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: Good The employment outlook will be Good for specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine (NOC 31100) in the Hamilton - Niagara Peninsula region for the 2025-2027 period.
Canada-wide, to 2033: Strong risk of Shortage ESDC’s projection for specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine, 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.