Remote First Nations Northern Ontario - Family Medicine

NOSM UniversityRemote First Nations Northern Ontario, OntarioCMG RoS stream

Program websiteWebsite CANPREPPCANPREPPContacts and 1 more link

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): 2 positions
Length: 2 years
Stream: CMG RoS
Discipline: Family Medicine
Applications per year: 51–200
Applicants offered interviews: 76–100%
Accreditation: Accredited
CaRMS program ID: 35988

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

Summary

This NOSM University Family Medicine stream is home-based in Thunder Bay, with core rotations in Sioux Lookout and other Northwestern Ontario communities such as Kenora.
Training lasts two years plus 6 months of additional skills training focused on remote First Nations practice.
Graduates complete a two-year return of service with the Matawa Health Co-operative.

Training

Setting

Regional community
Rural / remote

Sites

8 teaching sites

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC)
St. Joseph’s Care Group
Norwest CHC

Show all 8

Thunder Bay District Health Unit
Eabametoong First Nation
Sioux Lookout
Kenora
Matawa First Nations communities

Distributed across a region

Rural exposure

Required rural rotation (16 weeks)

Focus areas

Indigenous health
Rural / remote
Northern

Research

Offered · research or quality-improvement project

Getting around

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

Highlights

Additional 6 months of skills training after the 2-year program, paid at PGY3 salary level.
Protected bi-weekly Elder Teaching Program sessions on cultural teachings and traditional healing.
Interview panel includes Matawa Health Co-operative members and an Elder observer.

By year

PGY-1

Family Medicine in Thunder BayThunder Bay12 weeks
Family Medicine Rural8 weeks
Addiction Medicine/Pain Management4 weeks
Emergency Medicine4 weeks
Hospitalist4 weeks
Internal Medicine4 weeks
Psychiatry/ Mental Health4 weeks
Obstetrics/Women's Health4 weeks
Pediatrics4 weeks
Electives4 weeks

PGY-2

Family Medicine in Thunder BayThunder Bay8 weeks
Family Medicine Rural8 weeks
Internal Medicine8 weeks
Electives8 weeks
Addiction Medicine/Pain Management4 weeks
Emergency Medicine4 weeks
Psychiatry/ Mental Health4 weeks
Obstetrics/Women's Health4 weeks
Pediatrics4 weeks

PGY-3

Selectives16 weeks
Electives6 weeks
Palliative Care2 weeks

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

Required · this stream · 2 years

Applications per year

51–200

Applicants offered interviews

76–100%

Interviews

Dates (2027 match)

Not stated on CaRMS page

Mode

Virtual

Format

Traditional (one on one/two on one)

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

Info sessions

Tue 27 Oct 20267:00 pm EST
Info session · Virtual
Link for NOSM University, Tue 27 Oct 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Thu 7 Jan 20277:00 pm EST
Social · Virtual
Link for NOSM University, Thu 7 Jan 2027 (opens in a new tab)
Mon 25 Jan 20277:00 pm EST
Info session · Virtual
Link for NOSM University, Mon 25 Jan 2027 (opens in a new tab)

From the program’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab), read 1 Oct 2026. Dates and times are as the program wrote them, not converted to your time zone. Programs add and change sessions: confirm with the program.

Pay

Provincial scale, last updated 6 Jan 2025 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Contract expired, may change.

Annual salary by PGY level, Ontario
Level	Annual salary
PGY-1	$73,367 / year
PGY-2	$79,670 / year

One provincial scale for Ontario, set by the resident agreement, so every program there pays the same. Showing the 2 levels this program covers.

Call

Call (provincial max): 7 nights in 28 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.

PARO agreement, 1 Jul 2023 to 30 Jun 2026. The term has ended; its terms continue until a new agreement is signed.

Teaching sites

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) (Thunder Bay)
St. Joseph’s Care Group (Thunder Bay)
Norwest CHC (Thunder Bay)
Thunder Bay District Health Unit (Thunder Bay)
Eabametoong First Nation (Eabametoong First Nation · rural or distributed site)
Sioux Lookout (Sioux Lookout · rural or distributed site)
Kenora (Kenora · rural or distributed site)
Matawa First Nations communities (rural or distributed site)

Hospital facts

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

Unfilled positions in past years

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

Positions at this site, all streams. Site as CaRMS lists it: Remote First Nations Northern Ontario.

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	2 positions open after round 1 in 2019, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	2 positions open after round 2 in 2019, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)
2020	2 positions open after round 1 in 2020, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	2 positions open after round 2 in 2020, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)
2021	2 positions open after round 1 in 2021, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	2 positions open after round 2 in 2021, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)
2022	2 positions open after round 1 in 2022, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	2 positions open after round 2 in 2022, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)
2023	1 position open after round 1 in 2023, CaRMS list (opens in a new tab)	0
2024	2 positions 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	2 positions 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

George Drazenovich
Program Coordinator

Program director

Dr. Jason Sutherland

CaRMS lists no email for the director.

Site staffdirectors and coordinators at the teaching sites

Dr. Diane Bannon
Site Director
Dr. Kim Varty
Assistant Site Director

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

Location

Remote First Nations Northern Ontario, Ontario

Also trains in: Sioux Lookout, Kenora

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.