North West (North Battleford) - Regional-Rural - Family Medicine

University of SaskatchewanNorth West (North Battleford), SaskatchewanCMG stream

Program websiteWebsite CANPREPPCANPREPPContacts and 5 more links

CaRMS program description, 2027 match, last approved 8 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): 4 positions
Length: 2 years
Stream: CMG
Discipline: Family Medicine
Applications per year: 601+
Applicants offered interviews: 26–50%
Accreditation: Accredited
CaRMS program ID: 37163

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

Summary

This is a 2-year rural family medicine residency based in the Battlefords (North Battleford), covering a large area of northwest Saskatchewan.
Residents train in a mix of integrated and block rotations, with a large amount of emergency department work.
Training away from the base includes rural rotations in Unity or Meadow Lake, plus pediatrics and internal medicine in Saskatoon and obstetrics in Prince Albert.

Training

Setting

Regional community
Rural / remote
Academic / tertiary hospital

Sites

10 teaching sites

Battleford Union Hospital
Unity
Shellbrook

Show all 10

Lloydminster
Saskatoon
Prince Albert
Meadow Lake
Ile-a-la-Crosse
Rosthern
Weyburn

Distributed across a region

Rural exposure

Required rural rotation (16 weeks)

Focus areas

Rural / remote
Longitudinal / integrated
Indigenous health

Call

In-house call

Getting around

A car is required
Housing away from the home site is provided or paid for
Travel is reimbursed

Highlights

Learner-to-faculty ratio of 1:1, with one-on-one training throughout.
Rural and supplemental training sites pay for housing, so residents only pay for one residence.
Residents run their own advocacy committee, with activities including a monthly food drive for the homeless.

By year

PGY-1

FM/Care of Elderly/Addictions6 weeks (integrated)
ObstetricsPrince Albert6 weeks
Elective5 weeks
Rural FM/ER/Rural Hospital Medicine4 weeks (integrated)
Family Medicine4 weeks
Internal Medicine/CTUSaskatoon4 weeks
Rural Hospital Medicine4 weeks
Pediatrics3 weeks
Emergency Medicine3 weeks
General Surgery2 weeks
Pediatrics ERSaskatoon2 weeks
Psychiatry2 weeks
Palliative Care2 weeks
Orientation1 week
MSK1 week
Anesthesia1 week

PGY-2

FM15 weeks (longitudinal, including ER and hospital work when on call)
FM Rural (4 week & 8 week)12 weeks
Elective5 weeks
Rural Hospitalist Medicine4 weeks
Tertiary Centre Pediatric ExperienceSaskatoon4 weeks
Tertiary Centre Obstetrical ExperiencePrince Albert4 weeks
Emergency Medicine4 weeks
General Surgery2 weeks
Exam week

From the program's rotation list.

Selection

Application file components

CV
Electives
Examinations
Extra-curricular
Leadership skills
MSPRs
Personal letters
Reference documents
Research/Publications
Transcripts
Other file component(s)

Return of service

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

Applications per year

601+

Applicants offered interviews

26–50%

Interviews

Dates (2027 match): 20, 21, 22 and 23 Jan 2027
Mode: Virtual

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

One provincial scale for Saskatchewan, 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
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

Battleford Union Hospital (North Battleford)
Unity (Unity · rural or distributed site)
Shellbrook (Shellbrook · rural or distributed site)
Lloydminster (Lloydminster · rural or distributed site)
Saskatoon (Saskatoon)
Prince Albert (Prince Albert)
Meadow Lake (Meadow Lake · rural or distributed site)
Ile-a-la-Crosse (Ile-a-la-Crosse · rural or distributed site)
Rosthern (Rosthern · rural or distributed site)
Weyburn (Weyburn · rural or distributed site)

Hospital facts

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

Unfilled positions in past years

Open after round 1 in 2 of 8 years (2019–2026); still open after round 2 in 1 of 9 years.

Positions at this site, all streams. Site as CaRMS lists it: North Battleford (North West).

Positions at this site, all streams, still open after round 1 and after round 2, by year. Each count above zero links to the CaRMS list page it comes from.
Year	Open after round 1	Open after round 2
2018	not available	0
2019	0	0
2020	7 positions open after round 1 in 2020, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	0
2021	4 positions open after round 1 in 2021, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	1 position open after round 2 in 2021, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)
2022	0	0
2023	0	0
2024	0	0
2025	0	0
2026	0	0

CaRMS’s first-round list for 2018 was not found, so round 1 is counted over 8 years and round 2 over 9.

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

northwest.fm.pgme@usask.ca

Kristen Huebner · Program Administrator

306-446-8631

Program director

Dr. Sheila Smith
Faculty profile of Dr. Sheila Smith(opens in a new tab)
Clinical Interests
Emergency Medicine
Source: medicine.usask.ca · checked Oct 2026

CaRMS lists no email for the director.

Site staffdirectors and coordinators at the teaching sites

Dr. Aaron Prystupa
North West Site Director

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

Location

North West (North Battleford), 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: −15.3 °C North Battleford, 2.7 km away
July average: 17.6 °C North Battleford, 2.7 km away
Snowfall: not reported No weather station within 100 km reports it
Days below −20 °C: 48.9 days a year North Battleford, 2.7 km away

People

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

Population: 13,836 people down 3.3% from 2016
Official languages: English only 93.6% · French only 0.0% · English and French 5.9% · neither 0.5% Share of residents who can conduct a conversation in each. This is not the language spoken at home.
Immigrants: 14.2% of residents arrived 2016–2021: 4.7% · non-permanent residents: 1.8%
Indigenous identity: 26.6% of residents
How people commute: car, truck or van 92.1% · public transit 0.4% · walking or cycling 5.9% · other 1.6% Average commute: 12.5 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: $74,000 before tax $66,000 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: North Battleford, a small population centre (1,000 to 29,999 people) 13,649 people in 2021
Remoteness index: 0.327 0 is least remote, 1 is most remote. Statistics Canada calls this index experimental.
Student loan forgiveness: Family medicine here may qualify for up to $60,000 of Canada Student Loan forgiveness. Eligibility depends on the postal code of where you work: check the official postal-code lookup. Postal-code lookup(opens in a new tab)

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: 3.7% October 2025 survey, North Battleford, Saskatchewan (census agglomeration). The share of purpose-built rentals (three units and over) vacant, not a rent.
Basic cost of living: $51,502 a year Market Basket Measure 2025, Saskatchewan, population under 30,000, 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.

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 general practitioners and family physicians (NOC 31102) in the Prince Albert 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 34-10-0132-01. 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.
Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Canada Student Loan Forgiveness (Canada.ca), page dated 2026-06-03.
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 6 Oct 2026.