Best Medical Schools in Canada

Best Medical Schools in Canada

What are the best medical schools in Canada in 2023, as far as the medical field is concerned? It is common knowledge that the field of medicine is the most honorable career there is. Especially in a society that has recovered from a pandemic, there is an abundance of job prospects in the healthcare industry; it is also one of the highest-paying professions.

Why study in Canada instead of one of the many other excellent medical universities worldwide? Aside from the fact that it is ranked as the third-best country in the world to study medicine, Canada also caters to the long-term goals of international students by providing them with exciting postgraduate programs and visa options that will allow them to remain in the country and practice as healthcare professionals, thereby ensuring a better future for both the students and their families.

Because there are many in-demand positions across Canada’s provinces and territories, choosing this field of study will position you better than ever before for a successful career.

In addition, if you get a qualification in Canada, it will be recognized worldwide, and you will receive your education in a country that is widely regarded as having one of the world’s top educational systems.


When you graduate with a degree in medicine that is on par with the best in the world, you can count yourself among the alumni of one of these prestigious medical universities.

Best Medical Schools in Canada

One is required to have compassion for human life before enrolling in this course in order to be able to treat patients who are afflicted with a variety of conditions, including diseases, deformities, and others.

 Consider looking at the ranking of Canadian medical schools to get an idea of the kind of education you can anticipate receiving from the medical school you choose to attend.

This is one of the most effective methods to stand out as an exceptional medical practitioner. The country of Canada is home to a large number of prestigious medical institutions that attract students from all over the world to take part in their educational programs. Here are some of them:

1. University of Toronto

Students from other countries repeatedly add the University of Toronto (U of T) as their first choice institution, which is widely considered one of the best medical schools in Canada right now.


You will spend a significant amount of time in classes that reflect a diverse range of cultures out and about in the city. The medical sciences campus is situated in St. George, a vibrant neighborhood in Toronto that the world-famous CN Tower dominates.

The clinical medicine program at this university is rated as the fourth finest in the world. Insulin, discovered by researchers at the University of Toronto in the early 1920s, is a significant breakthrough from this institution.

They are dedicated to doing a wide range of medical research and are recognized as one of the most reputable institutions of their kind anywhere in the world.

hey, have risen to prominence not just in North America but also in the rest of the world thanks to the quality of their educational system. The medical school was one of the earliest institutions in Canada when it was established in 1843, making it one of the country’s oldest.

In terms of new ideas and the advancement of medical research. It was at this institution that they uncovered insulin’s potential medical applications.

The university’s teaching staff has been organized into 25 specialized institutes and departments, each concentrating on a different aspect of medicine, such as pediatrics, anesthesia, and surgery.

  • Location: Toronto, Ontario
  • QS World University Ranking: 21
  • Acceptance rate: 8.3%
  • Average GPA: 3.95

2. McGill University

The province of Quebec, Canada, is fortunate to be home to McGill University. Two campuses make up the university: one is located in the downtown area of Montreal, and the other is near Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.

The province of Quebec is the most populous in Canada and is predominately spoken in French. However, English is used as the major language of instruction across the board at McGill.

The university has ties to several teaching hospitals, and its medical school is the longest continuously operating one in all of Canada.

Among the many accomplishments of the university’s research efforts is producing the world’s first artificial blood cell.

The medical school at this university is regarded as one of the best in all of Canada and enjoys a good reputation across North America.

The institution is well-known for its biomedical research, which can brag of using the most advanced imaging technology. The school’s Department of Life Sciences is responsible for this.

Numerous medical facilities and hospitals are located in the province of Montreal, such as the St. Mary’s Hospital Centre, the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Montreal Institute of Neurology, and many others.

  • Location: province of Quebec
  • QS World University Ranking: 31
  • Acceptance rate: 5.81%
  • Average GPA: 3.8 and above

3. University of British Columbia

UBC is one of the best medical schools in Canada and has the second-largest number of students enrolled in its various medical degree programs.

In addition to its main campus in Vancouver, the University of British Columbia also has a location in Kelowna on the western coast of Canada. Even though the university is a public institution, students are nonetheless required to pay tuition in order to enroll in classes there.

Over sixty thousand students, including undergraduates and postgraduates, are now enrolled in an academic program at the institution.

The University of British Columbia (UBC) comprises two primary campuses: the Vancouver campus and the Okanagan campus, which is situated near Kelowna.

 The Pit Pub, Stanley Park, and Wreck Beach are three popular hangout locations for students attending UBC. Not to mention going to Whistler during the winter break for high-energy fun in the snow, like skiing and snowboarding.

Additionally, UBC has a distinguished alumni body, which includes the current Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau. First-year international students can enroll in the Vantage One program, which extends the duration of their first academic year from eight to eleven months to assist students in improving their English language skills.

  • Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
  • QS World University Ranking: 24th
  • Acceptance rate: 11.3%
  • Average GPA: 3.9

4. McMaster University

The location of McMaster University is ideal since it is close to the water’s edge of Lake Ontario and not far from the border with the United States, making it easy to travel to New York City whenever the spirit moves you. More than 75 countries are represented among the university’s international student body, while more than 55 are represented among its full-time faculty members.

Several other types of themed housing are available at the institution, including an all-female community, a community focused on healthy active living, and one that emphasizes global viewpoints (learn more in the video above).

 In addition, if you are interested in neuroscience, you will get to examine the brain of the late great Albert Einstein, which is preserved in a jar and is located in one of the school labs at McMaster.

The problem-solving method is utilized to impart knowledge to pupils at this particular educational institution in a manner distinct from other methods. It requires medical students to interact with actual patients to assess their current states of health.

According to this methodology, the academic year is eleven months long, and throughout that time, students are expected to enjoy a break of one month.

The institution comprises three distinct campuses dispersed among Niagara, Waterloo, and Hamilton provinces.

  • Location: Hamilton, Ontario
  • QS World University Ranking: 41
  • Acceptance rate: 4.1%
  • Average GPA: 3.87

5. University of Alberta

The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta has been around since 1913, making it one of Canada’s oldest and most prestigious health science institutes. It has gained a global reputation for its contributions to medical education and research, and its teaching and clinical facilities are among the most advanced in the country.

U of A is able to provide more than fifty different residency programs because we are a part of the largest teaching hospital in Western Canada. We offer residency programs that include family medicine, general surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, neurology, and cardiology.

As a result of the ranking of Canadian medical schools, various forms of financial assistance are made available to students. These forms of assistance include scholarships, awards, and grants. In addition, they are respected on a global scale for their contributions to the teaching of medical information to students.

This intensive four-year program is designed to develop knowledgeable, compassionate, collaborative, reflective, and professional physicians committed to quality health care and lifelong learning, making it one of the best medical schools in Canada.

The innovative curriculum at U of A combines lectures and laboratory instruction with small-group case studies, problem-based learning, and preceptor-guided clinical skill sessions, providing a well-rounded degree that emphasizes education, research, and patient care

This rigorous four-year curriculum is intended to cultivate informed, compassionate, collaborative, introspective, and professional physicians who are devoted to providing high-quality health care and continuing their education.

A well-rounded education that emphasizes education, research, and patient care is provided by our cutting-edge program, which combines traditional classroom instruction with hands-on laboratory work, small-group case studies, problem-based learning, and preceptor-led clinical skill sessions.

  • Location: Hamilton, Ontario
  • QS World University Ranking: 41
  • Acceptance rate: 4.1%
  • Average GPA: 3.87

6. University of Calgary

It wasn’t until 2014 that the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine became known as the Cumming School of Medicine. The faculty was founded in 1967. It is one of the two medical schools in the state of Alberta and one of 17 medical schools in the country.

 Foothills Medical Centre, Alberta Children’s Hospital, Rockyview General Hospital, and Chinook Regional Hospital are some Alberta Health Services hospitals connected to the Faculty of Medicine and the medical school. Other hospitals include Rockyview General Hospital and Chinook Regional Hospital.

 Trainees at the faculty of medicine comprise 491 graduate students, 767 residents, 190 post-doctoral fellows, and 486 medical students in the undergraduate medical education program (UME). McMaster University Medical School, it is one of the two medical schools in Canada that require three years to complete their programs.

 In addition, the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary provides a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree and a Bachelor of Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies degree to undergraduate students.

1970 was the year that saw the birth of the Doctor of Medicine program. It is one of just two medical schools in Canada that has earned full accreditation and provides a Doctor of Medicine degree that can be completed in three years.

There is no extended break during the summer months because the program is designed to teach the pre-clerkship curriculum continuously throughout the year (as is common in 4-year MD programs).

  • Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • QS World University Ranking: 235th
  • Acceptance rate: 7.8%
  • Average GPA: 3.30

7. Queen’s University

As a result of the school’s continued growth, it is now consistently ranked among the best medical schools in Canada. It was established in 1854, and today it has a stellar standing worldwide. The institution’s primary mission is to educate future medical professionals to assume leadership roles in the field on a global scale.

 There are programs for undergraduate and graduate students that can boost the research work done between professors and students. On the other side, medical students have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the healthcare industry.

The educational curriculum students must complete to get their MD degree is at the heart of the faculty’s mission.

It must fulfill all of the accreditation standards and adequately prepare graduates for postgraduate training, ultimately leading to licensure and certification by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons or the Ontario College of Family Physicians.

Over 4,000 students submit applications every year, but only 100 can make it into the first year of the medical school. The selection process includes looking at candidates’ MCAT scores, grade point averages, autobiographical sketches, and interviews.

  • Location: Kingston, Ontario
  • QS World University Ranking: 85th
  • Acceptance rate: 1.89%
  • Average GPA: 3.81

8. Dalhousie University

The Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University is a medical school and faculty of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is also known as Dalhousie Medical School.

 After Laval University, McGill University, and Queen’s University, the Faculty of Medicine at Queen’s University has been in continuous operation since 1868, making it one of the oldest medical schools in all of Canada.

There are now two campuses where students can earn their Doctor of Medicine degree from the Faculty of Medicine:

  • The Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building on the Carleton Campus in Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • The Saint John Regional Hospital in Saint John, New Brunswick

 The postgraduate medical faculty at Dalhousie University offers a total of 53 residency programs at teaching hospitals located throughout the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.

As the only medical school located in the Maritime Provinces, the Faculty of Medicine has close ties to the healthcare systems that are administered by the governments of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.

 These three governments are responsible for healthcare provision in their respective jurisdictions. This region has a combined population of 1.8 million people, and it has teaching hospitals located in various locations across the three provinces, as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre and the IWK Health Centre (both in Halifax), and the Saint John Regional Hospital, which are located near the medical school’s two campuses.

Currently, the University of Sherbrooke, part of the University of Moncton, is responsible for running a medical curriculum conducted entirely in French.

  • Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
  • QS World University Ranking: 308
  • Acceptance rate: 17%
  • Average GPA: 3.80

9. University of Ottawa

The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ottawa, also known as the Faculté de médecine in French, was established in 1945 as a bilingual medical school in the city of Ottawa, which is located in the province of Ontario, Canada.

 It is connected to the General Campus of the Ottawa Hospital and may be found near the east end of the city of Ottawa on a campus centered on Roger-Guindon Hall. The Health Sciences Complex is located off of the main campus of the University of Ottawa in the downtown area.

The only medical school that offers classes in both English and French, making it the only university of its kind in the world to do so. When they apply for admission, students are given the option of studying in either English or the preferred language of their choice.

According to the available data, more than one thousand people apply to be admitted to this university every year. Therefore, every year, there are approximately 166 students are accepted into medical school.

The percentage of students who chose English as their language of study is significantly larger than the number of students who chose French.

During the time covered by Covid-19, 4,294 students applied for admission, but only 2,468 met the admission requirements. Interviews were conducted with 582 applicants. However, the University of Ottawa ultimately accepted only 170 students.

The University of Ottawa’s current undergraduate MD program is a four-year program that accepts approximately 160 students every year. There are 44 students enrolled in the French stream and 116 students enrolled in the English stream.

Every course is available in both languages, and students can choose the ones they want to take. In addition, both English and Spanish are acceptable for writing the exams.

  • Location: Ottawa, Ontario
  • QS World University Ranking: 111
  • Acceptance rate: 3.4%
  • Average GPA: 3.94

10. College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan 

This is consistently ranked as one of the top medical schools in Canada. The cost to register is 17,500 Canadian dollars. The University of Saskatchewan is multifaceted, but one of its primaries focuses on the Faculty of Medicine. This concentration is academic study and research.

The College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan is a university that emphasizes research and education as well as other social skills to produce skilled clinicians and scientists.

To be a leader in advancing the health and welfare of the citizens of Saskatchewan and the world in general, the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan was founded with the vision of playing a leading role in achieving this goal.

  • Tuition fee:17,500 CAD per year

To be successful in the medical field, medical students must have a solid academic foundation.

We have seen in the material that various Canadian medical schools score highly throughout the world and influence other countries. The medical schools in this country are responsible for a significant amount of health research, which enables them to provide appropriate answers for the general population.

It is never too late to start getting ready to study medicine in Canada, allowing you to take advantage of all its benefits.

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