Prince George - Psychiatry

University of British ColumbiaPrince George, British ColumbiaCMG stream

Program websiteWebsite CANPREPPCANPREPPContacts

CaRMS program description, 2027 match, last approved 27 Aug 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: Psychiatry
Applications per year: 51–200
Applicants offered interviews: 51–75%
Accreditation: Accredited
CaRMS program ID: 36545

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

Summary

This is a 5-year UBC psychiatry track based in Prince George, the regional hub of northern British Columbia.
Core training occurs at University Hospital of Northern British Columbia, including PGY2 adult psychiatry and PGY3 child and adolescent psychiatry.
The track takes two residents per year and aims to train psychiatrists for northern and rural careers.
Residents must take part in scholarly activity from the start of training.

Training

Setting

Regional community

Sites

8 teaching sites

University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (UHNBC)
Soonats’ooneh
Nechako Youth Treatment Program

Show all 8

Intersect Youth & Family Services
Prince George Native Healing Centre
Foundry
Regional Eating Disorders Clinic
Prince George Regional Correctional Centre

Rural exposure

Optional rural rotation

Focus areas

Northern
Small program

Research

Required · research or quality-improvement project · protected time

Highlights

Training at a northern tertiary referral centre serving rural and remote First Nations communities.
Clinical opportunities at an Indigenous community health centre, with a return as junior consultants in PGY4.
Chronic care rotation can include clinical experience at a regional correctional centre.

By year

PGY-1

Psychiatry2 additional blocks
Internal MedicineUniversity Hospital of Northern British Columbiaone block
Selectivestwo blocks
Family Medicine
Pediatrics
Neurology
Emergency Medicine
Addictions
Emergency Psychiatry
Elective

PGY-2

Adult InpatientUniversity Hospital of Northern British Columbia6 months
Adult OutpatientUniversity Hospital of Northern British Columbia6 months

PGY-3

Child & Adolescent PsychiatryUniversity Hospital of Northern British Columbia6 months
Geriatric Psychiatry6 months

PGY-4

Consultation-LiaisonUHNBC3 months
Chronic Care6 months, minimum 2 days per week
Addiction Psychiatry6 weeks, sometimes longitudinally
Emergency PsychiatryUHNBC6 weeks

PGY-5

Selectives6 months, no less than 3 months per rotation
Electives6 months, no less than 2 months per rotation

From the program's rotation list.

Other rotations

Listed by the program without a single PGY year.

Transition to Discipline (Transition to Discipline · First month of PGY1)
General Medical and required Psychiatry Rotations (Foundations · remainder of PGY1)

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

51–75%

Interviews

Dates (2027 match)

19, 26 and 27 Jan 2027

Mode

Virtual

Format

Traditional (one on one/two on one)
Panel
MMI or rotating station

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

Pay

Provincial scale, last updated 2 Sep 2026 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Salaries from April 2027.

Annual salary by PGY level, British Columbia
Level	Annual salary
PGY-1	$71,390 / year
PGY-2	$79,571 / year
PGY-3	$86,655 / year
PGY-4	$93,230 / year
PGY-5	$100,215 / year

One provincial scale for British Columbia, 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: Yes. Mandatory
Dental plan: 100% Premiums Paid
Educational leave: Yes
Extended health insurance: 100% Premiums Paid
Frequency of calls: 1 in 4 onsite/1 in 3 offsite
Life insurance: 100% Premium Paid
Long-term disability insurance: Yes 100% Premiums Paid
Maternity leave: 17 weeks, plus up to 78 weeks Parental Leave
Meal allowance: No
Provincial dues (% of salary): 1.5%
Provincial health insurance: 100% Premiums Paid
Sick leave: Yes
Statutory holidays: 2 x pay plus extra day with pay

Call

Call (provincial max): 1 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.

RDBC agreement, 1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2029.

Teaching sites

University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (UHNBC) (Prince George)
Soonats’ooneh (Prince George)
Nechako Youth Treatment Program (Prince George)
Intersect Youth & Family Services (Prince George)
Prince George Native Healing Centre (Prince George)
Foundry (Prince George)
Regional Eating Disorders Clinic (Prince George)
Prince George Regional Correctional Centre (Prince George)

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.

University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (UHNBC)

Matched to University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (Prince George) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 4,520 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 1,127 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Sources and licences

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia.

Unfilled positions in past years

Open after round 1 in 4 of 8 years (2019–2026); still open after round 2 in 0 of 9 years.

Positions at this site, all streams. Site as CaRMS lists it: Prince George.

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	0	0
2021	0	0
2022	0	0
2023	2 positions open after round 1 in 2023, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	0
2024	1 position open after round 1 in 2024, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	0
2025	2 positions open after round 1 in 2025, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	0
2026	1 position open after round 1 in 2026, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	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

PGE Psychiatry

ahsan.sahibzada@ubc.ca

Ahsan Sahibzada · Manager, PGME Programs

Program director

Dr. Kenneth Heng

CaRMS lists no email for the director.

Site staffdirectors and coordinators at the teaching sites

PGE Psychiatry

Dr. Michelle Waller
Prince George Track Associate Program Director
michelle.waller@ubc.ca

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

Location

Prince George, British Columbia

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: −7.8 °C Prince George, 7.1 km away
July average: 15.9 °C Prince George, 7.1 km away
Snowfall: 203.9 cm a year Prince George, 7.1 km away
Days below −20 °C: 16.7 days a year Prince George, 7.1 km away

People

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

Population: 76,708 people up 3.7% from 2016
Official languages: English only 94.4% · French only 0.0% · English and French 5.0% · neither 0.5% Share of residents who can conduct a conversation in each. This is not the language spoken at home.
Immigrants: 10.3% of residents arrived 2016–2021: 1.9% · non-permanent residents: 2.3%
Indigenous identity: 15.3% of residents
How people commute: car, truck or van 90.2% · public transit 3.2% · walking or cycling 4.7% · other 1.9% Average commute: 16.9 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: $88,000 before tax $77,500 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: Prince George, a medium population centre (30,000 to 99,999 people) 67,339 people in 2021
Remoteness index: 0.317 0 is least remote, 1 is most remote. Statistics Canada calls this index experimental.
BC rural designation: RSA community designation B · 18.00 total points Official page(opens in a new tab)BC Ministry of Health, Rural Retention Program (RRP) 2026/27, effective 2026-04-01; checked 9 Oct 2026

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: 4.3% October 2025 survey, Prince George, British Columbia (census agglomeration). The share of purpose-built rentals (three units and over) vacant, not a rent.
Basic cost of living: $54,086 a year Market Basket Measure 2025, British Columbia, population 30,000 to 99,999, 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: Moderate The employment outlook will be Moderate for specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine (NOC 31100) in the Cariboo 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 34-10-0131-01. 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 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.
Source: BC Ministry of Health, Rural Practice Subsidiary Agreement Community Designation & Rural Retention Program Point List, 2026/27 (effective April 1, 2026).
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.