Montreal - Psychiatry

McGill UniversityMontreal, QuebecRegular stream

CaRMS program description, 2027 match, last approved 9 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): 10 positions
Length: 5 years
Stream: Regular
Discipline: Psychiatry
Applications per year: 201–400
Applicants offered interviews: 26–50%
Accreditation: Accredited
CaRMS program ID: 35810

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

Summary

McGill's five-year psychiatry residency is university based, with thirteen four-week periods per year.
Residents rotate through Montreal sites including the MUHC hospitals, Jewish General Hospital, St. Mary's Hospital and the Douglas Institute.
Rural psychiatry electives are offered, and a Research Track, a Master's program and the Clinician Investigator Program are available.

Training

Setting

Academic / tertiary hospital

Sites

23 teaching sites

McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) - Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH)
McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) - Montreal General Hospital (MGH)
Jewish General Hospital (JGH)

Show all 23

St. Mary's Hospital (SMH)
Montreal Children's Hospital (MCH)
Douglas Mental Health University Institute (DH)
Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI)
Centre Hospitalier Pierre Janet (CHPJ)
CSSS de Suroit
CSSS de la Vallée de l'Or
CLSC Côte-des-Neiges
CLSC Metro
CSSS des Collines
Conseil Cri SSS de la Baie James
CSSS du Haut St-Laurent
CS Inuulitsivik
CSSS de Papineau
CSSS la Pommeraie
CSSS du Pontiac
CSSS de Temiscaming et de Kipawa
CS Tullatavik de L'Ungava
CSSS de la Vallée-de-la-Gatineau
CSSS Vaudreuil-Soulanges

Rural exposure

Optional rural rotation

Focus areas

Indigenous health

Research

Offered · research or quality-improvement project · protected time

Training language

English and French

Highlights

Heinz Lehmann mentorship initiative recognized as a Leading Practice/Innovation at accreditation.
Practice STACERs integrated into core rotations rather than only on formal exam days.
Residents may complete a Master of Science in Psychiatry during the five-year residency.

By year

Not stated on CaRMS page

Other rotations

Listed by the program without a single PGY year.

family medicine (R1-R2)
emergency medicine (R1-R2)
neurology (R1-R2)
endocrinology (R1-R2)
internal medicine (R1-R2)
emergency psychiatry (R1-R2)
adult inpatient and outpatient Psychiatry (R1-R2)
child and adolescent psychiatry (R3-R4)
geriatric psychiatry (R3-R4)
severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) (R3-R4)
consultation-liaison (CL) (R3-R4)
elective rotations (R3-R4 · 2)

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.

IMG requirements

Recent clinical experience (within 4 years)

Applications per year

201–400

Applicants offered interviews

26–50%

Interviews

Dates (2027 match)

18 and 27 Jan 2027; 2 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)

Annual salary by PGY level, Quebec
Level	Annual salary
PGY-1	$58,728 / year
PGY-2	$64,809 / year
PGY-3	$70,890 / year
PGY-4	$76,969 / year
PGY-5	$83,050 / year

One provincial scale for Quebec, 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)

Adoption leave: 29 to 38 weeks55 to 75 % of salary
Annual vacation: 20 days/year
Assistant Resident Coordinator: $425/month
Call Premium: $607/28 days
Conference leave: 7 days pd/year
Dental Plan: Yes, available for a fee
Exam leave: Day (s) of the exam
Extended Health Insurance: Yes
Leave for death in family: From 1 to 5 days depending on the family member
Leave of absence without pay (exceptional measure): 12 months maximum
Life insurance: Yes
Long-Term disability insurance: Yes
Maternity leaveProvincial Program (RQAP*) and FMRQ **: 21 weeks95 % of salary
Meals: Reduced feeFree during on-call duty
Pager: Provided by the establishment
Parental leave (time sharing between parents): 19 to 29 weeks55 to 75 % of salary
Parking: ½ of doctors’ feeFree during on-call duty
Paternity leaveProvincial Program (RQAP) and FMRQ: 1 week, 100% of salary3 to 5 weeks, 100% of salary(two options)
Professional Liability Insurance****(CPMA not applicable): Yes (free)
Quebec Health Insurance Program / RAMQ***: Yes
Resident Coordinator: $583/month
Resuscitation courses and examination leave: Day of the course and of the exam, course paid
Sick leave: 9.6 days pd / yearAnd reimbursement of days not taken
Statutory and floating holidays: 13/year
Study leave: 10 days pd/year
Superior Financial Programs: Yes
Teaching Premium: $240/28 days
Wedding leave: 7 days paid + 7 days without pay

Call

Call (provincial max): 6 calls in an establishment per 28 days

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

FMRQ agreement, 1 Apr 2021 to 31 Mar 2028.

Teaching sites

McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) - Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) (Montreal)
McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) - Montreal General Hospital (MGH) (Montreal)
Jewish General Hospital (JGH) (Montreal)
St. Mary's Hospital (SMH) (Montreal)
Montreal Children's Hospital (MCH) (Montreal)
Douglas Mental Health University Institute (DH) (Montreal)
Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) (Montreal)
Centre Hospitalier Pierre Janet (CHPJ) (Gatineau · rural or distributed site)
CSSS de Suroit (Valleyfield · rural or distributed site)
CSSS de la Vallée de l'Or (Val d'Or · rural or distributed site)
CLSC Côte-des-Neiges
CLSC Metro
CSSS des Collines (Wakefield · rural or distributed site)
Conseil Cri SSS de la Baie James (Chisasibi · rural or distributed site)
CSSS du Haut St-Laurent (Huntingdon, Ormstown · rural or distributed site)
CS Inuulitsivik (Puvirnituq · rural or distributed site)
CSSS de Papineau (Buckingham · rural or distributed site)
CSSS la Pommeraie (Cowansville, Knowlton · rural or distributed site)
CSSS du Pontiac (Shawville · rural or distributed site)
CSSS de Temiscaming et de Kipawa (Temiscaming · rural or distributed site)
CS Tullatavik de L'Ungava (Kuujjuaq · rural or distributed site)
CSSS de la Vallée-de-la-Gatineau (Maniwaki · rural or distributed site)
CSSS Vaudreuil-Soulanges (Rigaud · rural or distributed site)

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.

McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) - Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH)

Matched to Hôpital Royal Victoria (Montréal) in the province’s hospital list.

Emergency visits: 2025–2026: 19,799 · 2026–2027: 20,604 Cumulative from 1 April to the end of period 5 of 13 (about 20 weeks) of each fiscal year. Not a yearly total: compare only the same period.

McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) - Montreal General Hospital (MGH)

Matched to Hôpital Général de Montréal (Montréal) in the province’s hospital list.

Emergency visits: 2025–2026: 14,039 · 2026–2027: 14,682 Cumulative from 1 April to the end of period 5 of 13 (about 20 weeks) of each fiscal year. Not a yearly total: compare only the same period.
Licensed beds: physical health 236 · psychiatry 46 Capacity on the facility’s permit (au permis), by bed type, as of the 1 Oct 2026 extraction. Not staffed or open beds, and not added up across bed types.

Jewish General Hospital (JGH)

Matched to Hôpital Général Juif (Montréal) in the province’s hospital list.

Emergency visits: 2025–2026: 37,934 · 2026–2027: 39,472 Cumulative from 1 April to the end of period 5 of 13 (about 20 weeks) of each fiscal year. Not a yearly total: compare only the same period.
Licensed beds: physical health 516 · psychiatry 52 · geriatrics 28 · neonatology 34 Capacity on the facility’s permit (au permis), by bed type, as of the 1 Oct 2026 extraction. Not staffed or open beds, and not added up across bed types.

Show facts for 4 more sites

St. Mary's Hospital (SMH)

Matched to Centre Hospitalier de St. Mary (Montréal) in the province’s hospital list.

Emergency visits: 2025–2026: 13,990 · 2026–2027: 14,053 Cumulative from 1 April to the end of period 5 of 13 (about 20 weeks) of each fiscal year. Not a yearly total: compare only the same period.
Licensed beds: physical health 224 · psychiatry 29 · geriatrics 24 Capacity on the facility’s permit (au permis), by bed type, as of the 1 Oct 2026 extraction. Not staffed or open beds, and not added up across bed types.

Montreal Children's Hospital (MCH)

Matched to L'Hôpital de Montréal pour Enfants (Montréal) in the province’s hospital list.

Emergency visits: 2025–2026: 25,738 · 2026–2027: 26,552 Cumulative from 1 April to the end of period 5 of 13 (about 20 weeks) of each fiscal year. Not a yearly total: compare only the same period.

Douglas Mental Health University Institute (DH)

Matched to Hôpital Douglas (Montréal) in the province’s hospital list.

Emergency visits: 2025–2026: 2,453 · 2026–2027: 2,281 Cumulative from 1 April to the end of period 5 of 13 (about 20 weeks) of each fiscal year. Not a yearly total: compare only the same period.
Licensed beds: physical health 6 · psychiatry 260 Capacity on the facility’s permit (au permis), by bed type, as of the 1 Oct 2026 extraction. Not staffed or open beds, and not added up across bed types.

Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI)

Matched to Hôpital Neurologique de Montréal (Montréal) in the province’s hospital list.

Licensed beds: physical health 90 Capacity on the facility’s permit (au permis), by bed type, as of the 1 Oct 2026 extraction. Not staffed or open beds, and not added up across bed types.

Sources and licences

Contient de l'information fournie par le ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec et visée par CC BY 4.0. Données modifiées. (Contains information provided by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec under CC BY 4.0. Data modified.)

Unfilled positions in past years

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

Positions at this site, all streams.

Quebec: different match process, not directly comparable.

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

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

residency.psychiatry@mcgill.ca

Shared by Sobhi El-khouri · Administrative & Student Affairs Coordinator, Yeana Chowdhury · Administrative & Student Affairs Coordinator and Melissa Puliga · Administrative & Student Affairs Coordinator

(514) 398-7294

Program directors

Dr. Nancy Low
Dr. Paulina Bajsarowicz
Faculty profile of Dr. Paulina Bajsarowicz(opens in a new tab)
Source: mcgill.ca · checked Oct 2026

CaRMS lists no email for the directors.

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

Location

Montreal, Quebec

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: −9.2 °C Montreal Trudeau (Airport), 11.2 km away
July average: 21.7 °C Montreal Trudeau (Airport), 11.2 km away
Snowfall: 216.6 cm a year Montreal Trudeau (Airport), 11.2 km away
Days below −20 °C: 12.0 days a year Montreal Trudeau (Airport), 11.2 km away

People

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

Population: 1,762,949 people up 3.4% from 2016
Official languages: English only 11.9% · French only 27.2% · English and French 58.5% · neither 2.4% Share of residents who can conduct a conversation in each. This is not the language spoken at home.
Immigrants: 33.4% of residents arrived 2016–2021: 6.0% · non-permanent residents: 7.5%
Indigenous identity: 0.9% of residents
How people commute: car, truck or van 56.7% · public transit 28.4% · walking or cycling 13.0% · other 1.9% Average commute: 28.4 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: $63,600 before tax $56,000 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: Montréal, a large urban population centre (100,000 or more people) 3,675,219 people in 2021
Remoteness index: 0.030 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: 2.9% October 2025 survey, Montréal, Quebec (census metropolitan area). The share of purpose-built rentals (three units and over) vacant, not a rent.
Basic cost of living: $50,287 a year Market Basket Measure 2025, Montréal, Québec, 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: 6.8% September 2026, three-month average, seasonally adjusted, Montréal, Quebec (census metropolitan area); standard error 0.4 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 census metropolitan area of Montréal 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.