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Medical Council of Canada
1021 Thomas Spratt Place
Ottawa, ON Canada, K1G 5L5
T : 1-613-521-6012
F : 1-613-248-5234
E : [email protected]
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The first half of 2025 at the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) has been focused on technological transformation, increasing collaboration, and making targeted improvements to our programs of assessment and services for international medical graduates (IMGs). In line with the 2024-2027 strategic plan, work continues to ensure that physicians have the competencies to support safe, accessible health care in Canada, no matter where they received their medical training.
Changes to the MCC’s examinations continue in a bid to improve and modernize the candidate experience while safeguarding the integrity, validity, and reliability of the assessments. The first iteration of the new Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination (MCCQE) Part I was launched in April 2025. This shorter examination continues to assess clinical decision-making but now uses multiple-choice questions as its sole question format. Candidates will also have more time to answer each question, and beginning with the August 2025 session, results will be released more quickly. A new assessment model for the Therapeutics Decision-Making (TDM) Examination is also in development, with a planned launch in January 2026. The new format will continue to be a half-day exam and will feature multiple-choice and short-menu questions in two sections, along with an optional break.
In February 2025, the Physician Assessment Centre of Excellence (PACE) opened its doors to patients in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The centre enables physician assessors, all trained in workplace-based assessment (WBA) by the MCC, to evaluate internationally trained physicians (ITPs) while they work in a centralized clinical setting. An innovative Practice-Ready Assessment (PRA) model led by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, the clinic is the first of its kind in Canada and will initially serve approximately 2,500 patients. PACE is expected to bring more than 40 new ITPs into the health care system each year.
A series of new initiatives are helping the MCC to provide more support for IMGs and ITPs as they navigate to practising as physicians in Canada, including a refreshed resource page for IMGs.
In March 2025, Dr. Filipe Santos joined the MCC as an IMG special advisor. Dr. Santos, who received his medical training in Brazil, is a board-certified anesthesiologist and an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, and maintains an active following on social media.
The MCC partnered with Dr. Santos to publish a new eBook written to help IMGs and ITPs wanting to practise in Canada. Published in April 2025 on the MCC website, Physician Licensing in Canada is a free, practical guide outlining clinical assistant, associate physician, and Practice-Ready Assessment pathways across the country, including the differing requirements for applying to each province and territory in these roles.
In February 2025, more than 6,000 people registered to attend the MCC’s first webinar, Practising medicine in Canada – Navigating the pathways to licensure for IMGs. The panel included the MCC’s CEO, Dr. Viren Naik, along with Dr. Santos and Stephanie Price, executive director of the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FMRAC), who together covered everything from provincial initiatives making licensure more accessible for IMGs, to things to consider when planning the path to licensure. The engaged audience posed more than 400 questions and maintained a lively discussion with one another over chat.
Progress continues on the National Registry of Physicians (NRP) since its development was completed in April 2024. The database, which will help to improve physician mobility in Canada, consolidates physician credential data in a centralized, cloud-based location. By the end of March 2025, every province had committed to providing data to the NRP, with seven now fully onboarded and making regular updates, and one in the process of onboarding. The MCC has received additional funding from Health Canada to expand the initiative and is also communicating with likeminded organizations holding health care data to find ways to better share information and collaborate, informing health human resources and advancing decision-making.
The MCC continues to focus on collaboration and on building strong alliances both within Canada and beyond. In February, the MCC signed a memorandum of agreement with the U.S-based organizations Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and Intealth to develop an assessor training course that will help MRAs streamline and expand their PRA programs. Both independent non-profit organizations, Intealth is an expert in assessing medical credentials, while ACGME sets and monitors the voluntary professional education standards that prepare physicians to deliver high quality medical care in the U.S.
In line with the 2024-2027 strategic plan, the MCC has also engaged three physician advisors to provide subject matter expertise and to advise on multiple projects. Along with MCC’s IMG special advisor, Dr. Filipe Santos, Dr. Jason R. Frank was appointed in October 2024 to support the development of the MCC’s WBA program, and Dr. Sarita Verma was appointed in April 2025 as an executive advisor with a focus on fostering and strengthening strategic alliances.
The MCC’s technological transformation continues with the mapping of the current and future states of IT systems and a shift from bespoke, in-house digital platforms to COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) solutions. The physiciansapply.ca platform will be replaced by a best-in-class Salesforce-based customer management system, while examination platform will transition to RISR, a leading assessment and training application which is already used by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. These updates will enhance user experiences when engaging with the MCC, while also improving data security and operational efficiency.
1021 Thomas Spratt Place
Ottawa, ON Canada, K1G 5L5
T : 1-613-521-6012
F : 1-613-248-5234
E : [email protected]