Ontario, Canada’s most populous province has announced a ban on foreign medical students into universities in the provinces from the fall of 2026.
Premier of Ontario, Mr Doug Ford who announced this on Friday, said foreign students are taking up most of the medical schools’ admission spaces, leaving very little for Canadian students.
Ford said Ontario would not allow international students in medical schools beginning in the fall of 2026.
He lamented that medical students from other countries were choking up admission slots to the detriment of Canadian students and the country’s medical services.
He said, “Starting in the fall of 2026, all Ontario medical schools will be required to allocate at least 95per cent of undergraduate seats to residents of Ontario with the other five per cent reserved for students from the rest of Canada.
“There are 18 per cent of students from around the world taking our kids’ seats and not staying here, but going back to their countries. It is just not right. now it is going to be 100% Canadian and 95% Ontario.”
But CBC Canada said the change will only represent a small shift in enrolment, as roughly 88 per cent of all medical school spots in Ontario are already held by residents of the province, according to a health ministry official.
The official emphasized the pending change is not an outright prohibition on students from outside Canada because in the highly unlikely scenario that seats do go unfilled, medical schools could still admit international students.
The provincial government is also expanding a “Learn and Stay” program that covers tuition and other educational costs to include students who commit to practising family medicine in Ontario with a “full roster of patients.”
