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Halifax - Family Medicine

Dalhousie UniversityHalifax, Nova ScotiaNova Scotian IMG stream

Program websiteWebsite5 more links
Open on carms.ca(opens in a new tab)

CaRMS program description, 2026 match, last approved 17 Nov 2025

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

Positions (approx. quota)
6 positions
Length
2 years
Stream
Nova Scotian IMG
Discipline
Family Medicine
Applications per year
601+
Applicants offered interviews
0–25%
Accreditation
Accredited
CaRMS program ID
29224

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

Summary

Dalhousie University's Family Medicine program in Halifax trains residents to become comprehensive family physicians who can address the health needs of Maritime communities. The program emphasizes education, research, clinical care, and community engagement, with a strong commitment to training physicians who can practice in diverse settings.

Training

Research
Residents are required to complete a scholarly project with protected time for research activities.
Training setting
Urban medical center in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with distributed training sites across Maritime provinces. Training occurs in various clinical settings including community clinics, hospitals, and rural practices.
Teaching approach
Competency-based medical education with an emphasis on self-directed learning, teamwork, and seeking out diverse learning opportunities. Strong focus on progressive independence and comprehensive patient care.
Setting types
  • Academic medical center
  • Community hospital
  • Urban clinic
  • Rural clinic
Focus areas
  • Family Medicine
  • Primary Care
  • Rural Medicine
  • Community Health
  • Comprehensive Clinical Care
Patient populations
  • Urban patients
  • Rural patients
  • Long-term care patients
  • Pediatric patients
  • Obstetric patients
  • Emergency patients
  • Geriatric patients
Highlights
  • Four-week Foundations in Family Medicine orientation
  • Weekly clinical half-day back with core Family Medicine team
  • Protected academic half-day
  • Horizontal elective options
  • Multi-disciplinary team training
  • Obstetrical Simulation Sessions
  • Procedural training
  • Long-term care experience
Strengths
  • Dedicated family medicine faculty
  • Strong primary health care research division
  • Comprehensive training across multiple clinical settings
  • Emphasis on full-service family medicine
  • Distributed medical education model
  • Commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion
Enhanced skills
  • Emergency Medicine
  • Palliative Care
  • Care of the Elderly

By year

PGY-1
  • Core Family Medicine blockMumford, Spryfield, or other HRM community clinics12 weeks
  • General MedicineQueen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre (Halifax Infirmary), or Dartmouth General HospitalMoncton Hospital (Moncton, NB)Saint John Regional Hospital (Saint John, NB)8 weeks
  • PediatricsIWK Health Centre (Halifax, NS)Moncton Hospital (Moncton, NB)Saint John Regional Hospital (Saint John, NB)Pediatric Ambulatory Clinic (IWK or community Halifax)8 weeks
  • Obstetrics and GynecologyIWK Health Centre (Halifax, NS)Moncton Hospital (Moncton, NB)Saint John Regional Hospital (Saint John, NB)South Shore Regional Hospital (Bridgewater, NS)8 weeks
  • Foundations in Family MedicineHalifax Site and teaching clinics4 weeks
  • Emergency MedicineHalifax Infirmary (Halifax, NS)Cobequid Community Health Centre (Lower Sackville)Dartmouth General Hospital (Dartmouth, NS)4 weeks
  • General SurgeryDartmouth General Hospital (Dartmouth, NS)South Shore Regional Hospital (Bridgewater, NS)Moncton Hospital (Moncton, NB)Saint John Regional Hospital (Saint John, NB)Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital (Fredericton, NB)4 weeks
  • SelectivesQueen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, or within Halifax Regional Municipality.4 weeks
  • VacationResidents request and seek approval as per departmental procedure policy4 weeks
  • Clinical Half Days in Family MedicineMumford, Spryfield, or other HRM community clinicsvariable
PGY-2
  • Core Family Medicine blockMumford, Spryfield, or other HRM community clinics18 weeks
  • Community Family MedicineNova Scotia community outside of HRM12 weeks
  • ElectivesResidents’ choice to be approved by Site Director.10 weeks
  • Critical CareQueen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre – Halifax InfirmaryDartmouth General Hospital4 weeks
  • Geriatric MedicineQueen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre – Veterans’ Memorial Building4 weeks
  • Palliative Care MedicineVictoria General Hospital4 weeks
  • VacationResidents request and seek approval as per departmental procedure policy4 weeks
  • Clinical Half Days in Family Medicinevariable
  • Psychiatry*Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre; and, Halifax Regional Municipality.Integrated

From the program's rotation list.

Selection

What the program looks at
  • CV content
  • Electives
  • Examinations
  • Extra-curricular activities
  • Leadership skills
  • Medical Student Performance Record
  • Personal letter
  • Reference letters
  • Research involvement
  • Academic transcripts
Applications per year
601+
Applicants offered interviews
0–25%

Interviews

Dates (2026 match)
13 and 24 Nov 2025; 10 and 23 Jan 2026; 6 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
LevelAnnual salary
PGY-1
$78,578 / year
PGY-2
$83,904 / 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 2 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

  • Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre
  • IWK Health Centre
  • Dartmouth General Hospital
  • Halifax Infirmary
  • Victoria General Hospital

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.

Queen Elizabeth II 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.

IWK Health Centre

Matched to IWK Health Centre (Halifax) in the province’s hospital list.

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

Dartmouth General Hospital

Matched to Dartmouth General Hospital (Dartmouth) in the province’s hospital list.

Hospital type
Regional As the province lists it. The list has no volumes or beds.
Show facts for 2 more sites

Halifax Infirmary

Matched to QEII - Halifax Infirmary Site (Halifax) in the province’s hospital list.

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

Victoria General Hospital

Matched to QEII - Victoria General (VG) Site (Halifax) in the province’s hospital list.

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.

Unfilled positions in past years

No repeated vacancies in CaRMS’s lists of open positions, 2019–2026.

Positions at this site, all streams.

A position can go unfilled because of where the site is, because it is open to IMGs only or to another restricted stream, or because the quota changed late. It says nothing about the quality of the training. Verify with the CaRMS lists. Source: CaRMS’s lists of positions open after round 1 and after round 2, as read in October 2026 (latest: 2026 round 1 (CaRMS PDF, opens in a new tab), 2026 round 2 (CaRMS PDF, opens in a new tab)). A site’s numbers are shown when it had positions open after round 1 in at least 2 of 8 years or at least 3 in one year.

Contacts

Location

Halifax, Nova Scotia

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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 general practitioners and family physicians (NOC 31102) in the Halifax region for the 2025-2027 period.
Canada-wide, to 2033
Strong risk of Shortage ESDC’s projection for general practitioners and family physicians, 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 CdnMD 5 Oct 2026.