Which province is easiest for an IMG to get licensed in Canada?
Check which routes fit youThere is no single easiest province, and a page that names one is making a claim no regulator supports. What is true is that the requirements differ, and some of those differences will matter to you and some will not. Three things decide it: which route you qualify for at all, which exams a province asks for, and whether you can meet its conditions on residence, a job offer and a return of service.
At a glance
- No single answer
- The requirements differ by province. Which differences matter depends on your exams, your status and what you can commit to.
- MCCQE not required
- BC, MB, NS. Alberta asks for a nationally recognized standardized registration exam rather than naming the MCCQE.
- Permanent residence not required
- All except Practice Ready Ontario. In Quebec, a candidate without PR or citizenship needs a temporary work permit.
- No exam listed at all
- Nova Scotia. NS PACE states that the NAC, MCCQE and TDM examinations are not mandatory.
- Return of service: 3 years
- BC, SK, ON, QC, NB, NS. Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador require one without stating a length. Alberta does not state one.
- No family medicine PRA
- Prince Edward Island and the territories.
The first question is not which province
It is which route is open to you. The routes ask for different things, and a province that is straightforward on one is not necessarily straightforward on another.
You trained in family medicine or as a general practitioner
A Practice-Ready Assessment is the provincial route. Nine provinces run one: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Prince Edward Island and the territories run none. Compare the nine.
You trained as a specialist or subspecialist
The Royal College Practice Eligibility Route is the national route, and the licence that follows is granted province by province. A few provinces also run a specialist PRA. The PER guide, and the specialist PRA pages.
You want to work in a supervised role first
Clinical assistant and associate physician licences exist in several provinces, with their own requirements. Compare them.
You have no postgraduate training yet
Residency through CaRMS is the route, and its requirements are national rather than provincial. Start here.
What actually varies, for family physicians
Four things, each of which rules a province in or out for a given person.
The exams
British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia do not list the MCCQE. Alberta asks for a nationally recognized standardized registration exam rather than naming the MCCQE. NS PACE in Nova Scotia states that the NAC, MCCQE and TDM examinations are not mandatory.
British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador list the TDM. New Brunswick's college still describes candidates being referred to sit it. Since September 2026 you apply for the TDM directly through the Medical Council of Canada, with no approval from a PRA program. Nova Scotia and Quebec do not list it.
Your immigration status
Only Practice Ready Ontario requires Canadian citizenship or permanent residence. In Quebec, a candidate without permanent residence or citizenship must obtain a temporary work permit before starting the assessment period.
The return of service
Most programs have one. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia require a 3-year return of service. Manitoba's sponsor offer includes a return of service agreement in a rural, underserviced community, with no length stated. New Brunswick's college says its return of service details will be made available soon. Alberta's college does not state one.
Whether the province runs a program at all
Prince Edward Island and the territories run no family medicine PRA.
What this page does not tell you
It compares what each program requires. It does not rank the programs by how competitive they are, because this site does not hold comparable intake numbers or success rates for them. A program with fewer requirements is not necessarily one with more places.
Common questions
Which province is easiest for an IMG?
There is no single answer, because the programs ask for different things. If you have not passed the MCCQE, British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia do not list it. If you do not have permanent residence, every program except Practice Ready Ontario is open to you, and Quebec asks for a temporary work permit instead. If you cannot commit to a return of service, Alberta's college does not state one. Which of those matters depends on your own training, exams and status, which is what the Eligibility Screener asks.
Is there a province where an IMG can be licensed without any Canadian exam?
Yes. NS PACE in Nova Scotia states that the NAC, MCCQE and TDM examinations are not mandatory.
Which PRA programs do not require the MCCQE?
British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia do not list the MCCQE. Alberta asks for a nationally recognized standardized registration exam rather than naming the MCCQE.
Which PRA program requires permanent residency?
Only Practice Ready Ontario requires Canadian citizenship or permanent residence. In Quebec, a candidate without permanent residence or citizenship must obtain a temporary work permit before starting the assessment period.
Do all PRA programs have a return of service?
Most do. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia require a 3-year return of service. Manitoba's sponsor offer includes a return of service agreement in a rural, underserviced community, with no length stated. New Brunswick's college says its return of service details will be made available soon. Alberta's college does not state one.
Does this page say which province is hardest to get into?
No. It compares what each program requires. It does not rank the programs by how competitive they are, because this site does not hold comparable intake numbers or success rates for them. A program with fewer requirements is not necessarily one with more places.
Answer it for your own profile
The Eligibility Screener asks about your training, your exams and your status, and returns the routes that fit, the ones that fit with gaps, and the ones that do not.
Sources
Every fact on this page is lifted word for word from pra-programs-compared.html, which carries the 27 official sources and the date each college page was read. Nothing here is a separate reading of a regulator. Confirm anything that matters on the college's own page before you act on it, and read the disclaimer.