Updated
Canadian Medical School Requirements 2027: GPA, MCAT, Casper
Canadian medical schools set their own requirements, and residence matters most. For fall 2027, 7 of the 18 programs need no MCAT, 10 need Casper, and GPA minimums run from 3.0 to 3.80 depending on the school and where you live, per the AFMC's 2027 admission requirements.
Below is every school in one table, then the MCAT and Casper rules, and what the AFMC's offer rates say about applying from another province. All from the AFMC guide and OUAC, read November 3, 2026.
How does admission to Canadian medical schools work?
The AFMC represents 19 faculties of medicine. Seats are funded by provinces, so most go to residents of the province. Ontario's seven schools share one application, OMSAS, due October 1. Every other school has its own application and deadline. Most provinces require at least two years of university, and schools ask for a GPA above their minimum, an autobiographical sketch, references and an interview.
Language matters in Quebec. Laval, Sherbrooke and Montréal teach in French, and McGill requires intermediate (B2) French before you start, per each faculty's AFMC entry. The table covers the 18 programs that reported requirements for fall 2027. Simon Fraser University welcomed its first MD class in August 2026 and posts its own rules on its admissions site.
What are the requirements at each Canadian medical school?
| School | GPA rule | MCAT | Casper | Deadline | Interview |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial (NL) | GPA rule: No minimum (mean 3.5) | MCAT: Required, no minimum (505 or higher recommended) | Casper: Yes | Deadline: August 26, 2026 | Interview: 8-station MMI plus a 30-minute Competency Assessment, over two days |
| Dalhousie (NS) | GPA rule: 3.3 minimum (mean 3.8) | MCAT: Required, minimum set on a sliding scale with GPA | Casper: Yes | Deadline: July 31 and September 3, 2026 (two sections) | Interview: MMI, 10 stations |
| Laval (QC) | GPA rule: Minimum set for each applicant group | MCAT: Not required | Casper: Yes | Deadline: November 1, 2026 (university applicants) | Interview: MMI in French (MEM), held jointly with Montréal |
| Sherbrooke (QC) | GPA rule: No minimum listed by the AFMC | MCAT: Not required | Casper: Yes | Deadline: November 1, 2026 (March 1, 2027 for CEGEP) | Interview: Live MMI in French (MEM-V) |
| Montréal (QC) | GPA rule: No minimum listed by the AFMC | MCAT: Not required | Casper: Yes | Deadline: November 1, 2026 (university applicants) | Interview: MMI in French (MEM), held jointly with Laval |
| McGill (QC) | GPA rule: 3.5 or higher is competitive | MCAT: Not accepted | Casper: Yes | Deadline: November 1, 2026 | Interview: MMI over two Zoom sessions |
| Ottawa (ON) | GPA rule: 3.50 minimum, last 3 full-time years | MCAT: Not required | Casper: No | Deadline: October 1, 2026 (OMSAS) | Interview: Early-phase MMI on Acuity Insights (scheduling from early October), then a 40-minute panel |
| Queen's (ON) | GPA rule: 3.0 minimum, cumulative | MCAT: Required | Casper: Yes | Deadline: October 1, 2026 (OMSAS) | Interview: Early-phase MMI, a possible extra MMI in January, then a live panel for a select number |
| Toronto (ON) | GPA rule: 3.6 minimum, 3.8 competitive | MCAT: Required, 125 in each section (one 124 allowed) | Casper: No | Deadline: October 1, 2026 (OMSAS) | Interview: Modified Personal Interview: 4 interviews, recorded in the virtual version |
| McMaster (ON) | GPA rule: 3.00 minimum | MCAT: CARS only, 123 minimum | Casper: Yes | Deadline: October 1, 2026 (OMSAS) | Interview: MMI |
| Western (ON) | GPA rule: 3.70 in each of 2 years | MCAT: Required | Casper: No | Deadline: October 1, 2026 (OMSAS) | Interview: Structured 3-person panel (no MMI) |
| NOSM University (ON) | GPA rule: 3.0 minimum (mean 3.79) | MCAT: Not required | Casper: No | Deadline: October 1, 2026 (OMSAS) | Interview: MMI, then a panel |
| TMU (ON) | GPA rule: 3.5 minimum (mean 3.8) | MCAT: Not required | Casper: No | Deadline: October 1, 2026 (OMSAS) | Interview: Kira Talent assessment, then an MMI (Talking Circle in the Indigenous pathway) |
| Manitoba (MB) | GPA rule: 3.30 adjusted GPA on a 4.5 scale | MCAT: Required | Casper: Yes | Deadline: October 1, 2026 | Interview: MMI, plus an Indigenous panel for Indigenous applicants |
| Saskatchewan (SK) | GPA rule: 80% average minimum (mean 89%) | MCAT: Required, one sitting | Casper: Yes | Deadline: October 1, 2026 | Interview: MMI plus a panel interview or conversation circle |
| Alberta (AB) | GPA rule: 3.30 for Albertans, 3.50 for others | MCAT: Required, 124 in every section for Albertans | Casper: No | Deadline: October 1, 2026 | Interview: MMI and panel, plus a rural panel interview |
| Calgary (AB) | GPA rule: 3.20 for Albertans, 3.80 for others (mean 3.88) | MCAT: Required, 128 CARS minimum for non-Albertans | Casper: No | Deadline: October 1, 2026, 4:00 p.m. MST | Interview: MMI |
| UBC (BC) | GPA rule: 75% for BC residents, 85% for others | MCAT: Required | Casper: No | Deadline: September 15, 2026 | Interview: MMI, 10 stations |
Which Canadian medical schools require the MCAT?
Eleven do. Laval, Sherbrooke, Montréal, McGill, Ottawa, NOSM University and TMU do not, and McGill does not accept MCAT scores at all. Where it is required, schools use it in very different ways. McMaster reads only CARS, with a 123 minimum (see our CARS guide). Toronto needs 125 in every section with one 124 allowed and does not use the score competitively. Alberta asks Albertans for 124 in every section, and Calgary asks applicants from outside Alberta for 128 in CARS. Memorial sets no minimum but recommends 505 or more, and Dalhousie ties its minimum to your GPA.
Which Canadian medical schools require Casper?
Ten for fall 2027: Memorial, Dalhousie, Laval, Sherbrooke, Montréal, McGill, Queen's, McMaster, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Dalhousie uses Casper only to choose who to interview, and McMaster makes it one third of the formula that decides interview invitations. Ottawa uses its own early-phase MMI instead. Dates are in our Casper test dates guide.
How much does living in the province matter?
A lot. Since July 1, 2025 Ontario's schools must reserve at least 95% of seats for Ontario residents. Memorial keeps 84 of its 110 seats for Newfoundland and Labrador and 20 for its PEI campus, leaving 6 for the rest of Canada. Quebec limits seats for applicants from outside the province, while Sherbrooke holds 28 for applicants from Atlantic Canada.
The AFMC also reports what share of each group got at least one offer. In 2024/25, 31.8% of Saskatchewan applicants to Saskatchewan got one, against 5% of other Canadians. Calgary was the exception: 12.4% of applicants from outside Alberta got an offer, close to the 12.7% for Albertans, though they need a 3.80 GPA and a 128 in CARS to apply. Every school's rates are in the AFMC guide.
By our math from those rates, out-of-province applicants did best at Sherbrooke, Calgary and Memorial. At 10 of the 13 schools that reported, a resident was 1.9 to 6.4 times as likely to get an offer. The AFMC's own advice is to always apply to your home province's school, and to more than one school if your province has several.
How the rest of the table compares
UBC asks for 75% from British Columbia residents and 85% from everyone else. Alberta asks Albertans for a 3.30 GPA and others for 3.50. Ottawa counts only your last three full-time years, Western needs 3.70 in each of two years and Toronto treats 3.8 as competitive. Queen's reported similar rates for Ontario and other Canadian applicants for 2024/25 entry, before Ontario's 95% rule began on July 1, 2025.
Our checklist for applying to Canadian medical schools
- Start with your own province. Every faculty saves most of its seats for residents, and the AFMC tells applicants to always include their home school.
- Sort the rest by test: 7 programs take no MCAT at all, and McMaster reads only CARS.
- Check each GPA rule on that school's scale. Ontario uses the OMSAS 4.0 scale, Manitoba a 4.5 scale and UBC and Saskatchewan percentages.
- Book Casper early if any school on your list needs it. Check the test dates for each school's cycle.
- Mark the early deadlines: Dalhousie in July, Memorial in August and UBC on September 15, before OMSAS on October 1.
- Practice interviews from fall. Most Canadian schools use an MMI.
Applying in the US too? Our AMCAS application guide covers the US side.
Practice the question every province asks
Schools fund seats to keep doctors close to home, so expect to be asked why you want to train and stay there. Our MMI practice questions cover the rest.
“Why do you want to train in this province, and do you plan to practice here?”
Canadian schools fund seats to keep doctors in the province, so interviewers often ask about your ties to it. Give real reasons, name the community you would serve and be honest about your plans.
Example answer written by Confetto (the applicant is invented)
I grew up in a town of 4,000 people two hours from the nearest hospital, and my grandmother's dialysis meant three long drives a week. I want to train here because I want to practice where people still make that drive.
In my second year I volunteered with a rural health outreach program and saw how much a family doctor who stays for twenty years means to a town. Training here would let me do my rural rotations in communities like mine and build the connections that make staying realistic.
My plan is family medicine somewhere in the north of this province. I know plans change in medical school, but the reason I am applying is the same one that would keep me here.
Sources: the AFMC's Admission Requirements of Canadian Faculties of Medicine for Admission in 2027 and OUAC's Ontario resident requirement, checked November 3, 2026. The AFMC guide is compiled from each faculty and can change, so confirm on each school's own site before you apply. The ranking, gaps and checklist are ours.
Frequently asked questions
Which Canadian medical schools don't require the MCAT?
For fall 2027, Ottawa, NOSM University and TMU in Ontario, and Laval, Sherbrooke, Montréal and McGill in Quebec. McGill does not accept MCAT scores at all. McMaster requires the MCAT but uses only the CARS section. See the AFMC's 2027 requirements.
What GPA do you need for medical school in Canada?
Minimums range from 3.0 (McMaster, Queen's, NOSM) to 3.70 in each of two years (Western), and Calgary asks 3.80 of applicants from outside Alberta. Admitted averages are higher, often 3.8 or more on a 4.0 scale. See each school's rule in the AFMC guide.
Which Canadian medical schools require Casper?
For fall 2027, Memorial, Dalhousie, Laval, Sherbrooke, Montréal, McGill, Queen's, McMaster, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Ottawa uses its own early-phase MMI instead. See our Casper schools list.
Is it hard to get into a Canadian medical school from another province?
Usually much harder. In the AFMC's 2024/25 numbers, 31.8% of Saskatchewan residents who applied to Saskatchewan got an offer, against 5.0% of other Canadians. Calgary and Sherbrooke were the exceptions, with near-equal rates. See the AFMC applicant statistics.
Can international or US students apply to Canadian medical schools?
Rarely. Ontario schools must reserve at least 95% of seats for Ontario residents and the rest for other Canadians, and Memorial takes only Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Check each school's own rules before applying. Read OUAC's residency rule.