Saskatoon - Orthopedic Surgery

University of SaskatchewanSaskatoon, SaskatchewanCMG stream

Program websiteWebsite CANPREPPCANPREPPContacts and 1 more link

CaRMS program description, 2027 match, last approved 3 Sep 2026 · See the 2026 version

2027 match programs, from CaRMS as of 5 Oct 2026. Programs can still change until file review opens 26 November; we re-check every two weeks. Always confirm on CaRMS (opens in a new tab).

Positions (approx. quota): 2 positions
Length: 5 years
Stream: CMG
Discipline: Orthopedic Surgery
Applications per year: 51–200
Applicants offered interviews: 76–100%
Accreditation: Accredited
CaRMS program ID: 35745

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

Summary

This is a 5-year orthopedic surgery residency based at Royal University Hospital and Saskatoon City Hospital in Saskatoon.
In fourth year, residents work with community surgeons in centres such as Regina, Prince Albert, Moose Jaw and Lloydminster.
The program uses a night float call system, and research is mandatory from R1 to R4, with a protected half-day each week.

Training

Setting

Academic / tertiary hospital
Regional community

Sites

12 teaching sites

Royal University Hospital
Saskatoon City Hospital
St. Paul's Hospital

Show all 12

Jim Pattison Children's Hospital
Saskatoon Prairieview Surgical Centre
Saskatoon Surgicentre
Regina Hospitals
Prince Albert Hospital
Lloydminster Hospital
Moose Jaw Hospital
Northern Medical Services
Offices of the community based faculty

Rural exposure

Not stated on CaRMS page

Focus areas

Early independence
Small program

Research

Required · research project · protected time

Call

In-house call · night float

Highlights

Annual combined orthopedic resident research day with the University of Manitoba, alternating hosts.
Second-year residents take home tactile knee models for arthroscopic practice.
Residents are often first assist for all elective ORs starting in PGY-1.

By year

Not stated on CaRMS page

Other rotations

Listed by the program without a single PGY year.

Hip and Knee Reconstruction (Surgical Foundations)
Orthopedic Trauma (Surgical Foundations)
Spine (Surgical Foundations)
Pediatric Orthopedics (Surgical Foundations)
Sports (Surgical Foundations)
Night Float (Surgical Foundations)
ICU (Surgical Foundations · 1 block)
Trauma Surgery (Surgical Foundations · 1 block)
Plastic Surgery (Surgical Foundations · 1 block)
Emergency Medicine (Surgical Foundations · 1 block)
Internal Medicine (Surgical Foundations · 1 block)
Sports (Core · Royal University Hospital and Saskatoon City Hospital)
Upper Extremity (Core · Royal University Hospital and Saskatoon City Hospital)
Foot and Ankle (Core · Royal University Hospital and Saskatoon City Hospital)
Hip & Knee Reconstruction/Orthopedic Tumour Surgery (Core · Royal University Hospital and Saskatoon City Hospital)
Spine Surgery (Core · Royal University Hospital and Saskatoon City Hospital)
Pediatric Orthopedics (Core · Royal University Hospital and Saskatoon City Hospital)
Trauma Orthopedics (Core · Royal University Hospital and Saskatoon City Hospital)
community practice (Core · Regina, Prince Albert, Moose Jaw and Lloydminster)
elective time for out-of-province rotations (Core · 1-2 blocks)
knowledge consolidation (Core · 1 block)

Selection

Application file components

CV
Electives
Examinations
Extra-curricular
Leadership skills
MSPRs
Personal letters
Reference documents
Research/Publications
Transcripts

Return of service

Not stated on CaRMS page. Check the provincial return-of-service rules.

Applications per year

51–200

Applicants offered interviews

76–100%

Interviews

Dates (2027 match)

1 Feb 2027

Mode

Virtual

Format

Traditional (one on one/two on one)

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

Pay

Provincial scale, last updated 23 Jul 2026 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Contract expired, may change.

Annual salary by PGY level, Saskatchewan
Level	Annual salary
PGY-1	$68,329 / year
PGY-2	$74,518 / year
PGY-3	$80,700 / year
PGY-4	$86,858 / year
PGY-5	$92,968 / year

One provincial scale for Saskatchewan, 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
CMPA dues paid: 100%
Dental plan: 100%
Educational leave: Minimum 7 days with pay, 12 Maximum
Employee Assistance Program: Two programs available through SMA and University of Saskatchewan
Extended health insurance: Blue Cross family coverage, if registered with a Provincial Health Plan
Frequency of call: 1:4 in-house (if in excess of 1:4 paid $196/period from 1700-0800 weekdays and $249 from 0800-0800 weekends)*;1:3 out-of-house
Life insurance: Paid premium, >$100,000 coverage
Long-term disability insurance: Paid premium cost for Disability Insurance
Maternity leave/ Paternity: In conformity with Sask. Labour Standards Act – 17 weeks max maternity leave and up to 35 weeks parental leave.5 paid days paternity (can split the 35 weeks parental leave with mother as desired.)
Meal allowance: n/a
On-Call Stipends: Home Light: per duty period: $72 weekday; $83 weekendIn House: per duty period: $166 weekday; $191 weekendICU/CCU: per duty period: $166 weekday; $191 weekend
Provincial dues (% of salary): 1 %
Provincial health insurance: Yes, if registered with Sask. Health
Sick leave: 1.25 days per month to maximum 75 days
Statutory and floating holidays: 1.5 times pay or 1/2 pay & day off for stats, plus 6 extra paid days off at Christmas
Supplemental Maternity Leave Benefits: 15 weeks topped to 90% pay when eligible for Employment Insurance

Call

Call (provincial max): 1 in 4 in-house, averaged over a rotation

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

RDoS agreement, 1 Jan 2023 to 31 Dec 2025. The term has ended; its terms continue until a new agreement is signed.

Teaching sites

Royal University Hospital (Saskatoon)
Saskatoon City Hospital (Saskatoon)
St. Paul's Hospital (Saskatoon)
Jim Pattison Children's Hospital (Saskatoon)
Saskatoon Prairieview Surgical Centre (Saskatoon)
Saskatoon Surgicentre (Saskatoon)
Regina Hospitals (Regina · rural or distributed site)
Prince Albert Hospital (Prince Albert · rural or distributed site)
Lloydminster Hospital (Lloydminster · rural or distributed site)
Moose Jaw Hospital (Moose Jaw · rural or distributed site)
Northern Medical Services (rural or distributed site)
Offices of the community based faculty

Hospital facts

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

Contacts

Grouped by the titles CaRMS lists. The program office (administrators and coordinators) usually answers questions about the program and applying; the director leads the training.

Program officeadministrators and coordinators

ortho.surgery@usask.ca

Judy Classen · Program Administrative Assistant

(306) 844-1114 (306) 655-0638

Program director

Dr. Andrew Urmson
Program Director
ortho.surgery@usask.ca

Per CaRMS. Staff change during the cycle, so check the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab) before emailing.

Location

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

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: −15.4 °C Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport), 5.3 km away
July average: 18.3 °C Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport), 5.3 km away
Snowfall: 91.0 cm a year Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport), 5.3 km away
Days below −20 °C: 49.4 days a year Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport), 5.3 km away

People

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

Population: 266,141 people up 7.7% from 2016
Official languages: English only 92.1% · French only 0.0% · English and French 6.5% · neither 1.4% Share of residents who can conduct a conversation in each. This is not the language spoken at home.
Immigrants: 20.4% of residents arrived 2016–2021: 6.5% · non-permanent residents: 2.0%
Indigenous identity: 11.5% of residents
How people commute: car, truck or van 89.2% · public transit 3.4% · walking or cycling 5.4% · other 2.0% Average commute: 17.5 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: $85,000 before tax $74,500 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: Saskatoon, a large urban population centre (100,000 or more people) 264,637 people in 2021
Remoteness index: 0.216 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: 3.1% October 2025 survey, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (census metropolitan area). The share of purpose-built rentals (three units and over) vacant, not a rent.
Basic cost of living: $55,881 a year Market Basket Measure 2025, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 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: 5.9% September 2026, three-month average, seasonally adjusted, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (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: Good The employment outlook will be Good for specialists in surgery (NOC 31101) in the Saskatoon - Biggar 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 6 Oct 2026.