As a follow-up to our October 2 news item regarding the strike affecting learners in Québec, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada is pleased to share new measures implemented to help mitigate its impact.
The 2026 R1 Match process began on September 10, 2025, with the opening of the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) online for applicants. Relevant deadlines are below:
- October 6th: deadline for submission of letters of reference requiring translation through the CaRMS-facilitated translation service
- October 10th: deadline for Medical School Performance Records (MSPRs) sent by Canadian faculties for translation.
- October 15th: deadline for students to request translation for MSPRs. Applicants who would like their MSPRs to be translated through the CaRMS-facilitated translation service must make the request by this time.
- October 16th: program selection opens. Applicants can start selecting the programs to which they wish to apply and assigning requested documents.
- November 21st: deadline for transcripts and MSPRs not requiring translation to arrive at CaRMS
- November 26th: deadline for reference letter submission
- November 27th: deadline for submission of all applications and documents
- November 27th: file review begins by programs
- January 13th, 2026: deadline for Interview offers by the programs
The Québec Undergraduate Deans requested that the ARMC consider whether the timeline for the 2026 PGY-1 residency match could be modified to support Québec students facing this exceptional situation.
The ARMC members acknowledged that changing match timelines is very difficult and would introduce other inequities and operational challenges. However, in this exceptional circumstance, an approach that includes flexibility, collaboration and compassion is essential. In order to mitigate the effects of the physician job action on Québec students’ ability to successfully enter the 2026 R1 match, AFMC recommends that:
For Québec students applying to the 2026 R1 Match:
- Reference documents from the institution to which the applicant is applying must not be a criterion for file review, nor ultimately, for ranking for students applying to a Québec school.
- Letters of reference (or applicant support forms) completed by any physician able to support the student’s application must be accepted by all programs; students cannot be expected to have one or more references from a physician practicing in the specific discipline to which the applicant is applying.
- Each program may request a maximum of two (2) reference documents from an applicant, rather than the usual maximum of three (3). Students may submit 2 or 3 reference letters, but programs can only require 2.
- A complete MSPR must not be a criterion for file review nor ultimately for ranking; incomplete MSPRs must be accepted. An incomplete MSPR is an MSPR which may be missing final assessments from placements that were expected to be completed by the date of submission, but were not due to the strike action. MSPRs do not include formative feedback
In addition to the above, the Québec UGME Deans will provide graduating students from the Class of 2026 with a cover letter to their MSPR, explaining the impact of the physician job action on the documentation submitted to CaRMS and the students’ educational opportunities.
Finally, CaRMS has indicated that there may be some flexibility with regard to the deadlines to submit documents requiring translation. The Québec UGME Deans may pursue this with CaRMS, as long as the final deadlines for document submission are unaltered (i.e., November 14 for transcripts and MSPRs, November 26 for reference letters, and November 27 for all other documents not requiring translation). This is essential to allow PGME programs to begin file review on November 27 as expected.