GP Jobs in Canada

A Quick Answer

The Canadian GP job market is booming for UK trained GPs. Nearly six million Canadians have no family doctor so UK-trained GPs with MRCGP are sought hire in every province. You’ll be looking for “family physician” roles (the Canadian term for GP) and your best route in is through a free recruitment agency who will help you through licensing, securing a job and relocating to Canada. Expect gross billings of roughly CAD $250,000–$400,000 depending on province and setting with the biggest packages in more remote areas. It'll take 6-9 months on average and it's a well trodden path with Canada hiring many international GPs at the moment. 

Jump to section:

• What’s the job market like for UK trained GPs in Canada?
• How should I start my job search and what should I consider?
• What kind of jobs and job titles should I be looking for?
• What locations should I be considering?
• Should I be looking at independent practices or larger corporates?
• Which jobs are most in demand?
• What salary can I expect roughly?
• Where should I start making applications?
• Can you recommend job boards or agencies?
• Before I apply, what do I need to do?
• Finding a GP job in Canada: a summary
• FAQs
• Sources
• Thinking about moving to Canada?

What’s the job market like for UK trained GPs in Canada?

There's a huge demand for UK trained GPs around the world but Canada is arguably the best in the English-speaking world right now. Around one in five Canadians has no regular family doctor, every province runs an international recruitment programme and UK GPs are actively targeted with MRCGP converting to the Canadian qualification without exams to make licensing very easy. There's also a priority visa application available to you, great working conditions and pay packages that consistently beat the NHS. 

If you're starting from scratch, our complete guide to moving to Canada as a GP from the UK covers the whole journey – earnings, timelines, visas and costs.

How should I start my job search and what should I consider?

Work through it in this order:

1. Pick your province first. Licensing is different for each province so switching provinces mid-process means starting paperwork again. So the first step is deciding where you want to live.
2. Register with a recruiter for that province. Canada uses recruiters more widely than the NHS - they’re free and will match you to vacancies, advise on licensing and often help with visas too.
3. Start your credential verification on physiciansapply.ca. It can take up to 3 months so worth starting early and doing it whilst you interview.
4. Choose a setting. Big corporates offer security and great incentives as well as options on location. Smaller independents can be more flexible but require more initial input to the relocation process.

The things worth considering for any job are:

• Overhead split (what % of billings the clinic keeps)
• Payment model (fee-for-service vs. salaried vs. blended)
• Patient panel size
• Whether relocation money and signing bonuses are on the table
• Whether the role carries a return-of-service commitment (some incentive-heavy posts ask you to stay for 2–5 years in the community).

What kind of jobs and job titles should I be looking for?

Search for “family physician” as the Canadian term for GP. The main options include:

• Longitudinal / full-service family practice - the classic GP job where you have your own patient list in a community clinic. 
• Walk-in / urgent care clinics - episodic care, no patient list, easy to start in and popular with new arrivals finding their feet.
• Hospitalist roles - these are jobs for family doctors managing hospital inpatients. They're shift-based, well paid and have no clinic overheads.
• Rural generalist posts - these usually involve a clinic plus emergency department cover in small communities. 
  

What locations should I be considering?

The honest rule of thumb from our earnings guide still applies - the further from downtown Toronto or Vancouver, the more you earn. Mid-sized towns of 20,000–100,000 people are the sweet spot most UK GPs land on.

Should I be looking at independent practices or larger corporates?

For your first Canadian job this is a big consideration and well worth thinking about. Independent and physician-owned group practices (typically 4–10 doctors sharing overheads, with good autonomy and a community feel) make up the vast majority of clinics in Canada. That said, larger corporate clinic chains offer turnkey setups that make them really appealing for a first time arrival in Canada - they look after billing, staff and admin so you can concentrate on settling in to the country. They also connect you with a variety of different locations and the opportunity to transfer if you later decide you'd be better suited to another place. Finally, they're well versed in hiring internationally so they'll make the licensing and visa process absolutely seemless. There are also health-authority and team-based roles (community health centres and family health teams) that pay salary rather than billings - it's the closest feel to NHS employment but rarer. Our advise is to settle on a larger corporate or well established & reasonably sized independent practice.  

Which jobs are most in demand?

Longitudinal family practice (the traditional GP role) is the single most in-demand job in Canadian medicine and it’s most acute in smaller communities and rural areas. If you want maximum leverage for pay packages then rural generalist posts, family practice in mid-sized towns and anywhere in the Atlantic provinces or the Prairies will be best. Walk-in and telehealth roles are easier to get but attract no incentives and hospitalist posts are competitive in cities but in demand in regional hospitals. In short, the further you get from big cities, the greater the demand and greater the pay.

What salary can I expect roughly?

The national average gross clinical payment to family doctors is about CAD $324,000 (~£187,000). After typical clinic overheads of 20–30% a full-time GP nets around CAD $230,000–$280,000 before tax. These are some ballpark figures to expect, by role:

This doesn't include the signing bonuses that can be around $20,000, relocation funding of $9,000–$15,000 and annual rural retention payments. Salaried team-based roles pay less on paper (roughly $220,000–$280,000) but include benefits and zero overhead.

Where should I start making applications?

Three main channels depending on what you need:

1. Specialist agencies and relocation firms. This is where most UK trained GPs find their success – and it’s also totally free. Good recruiters will learn your situation and requirements, advise on the process, connect you with jobs and help you negotiate a good package before helping with visas and relocation too. BDI Resourcing have helped more than 3,000 doctors and GPs with international moves making them the most established and best rated agency.
2. Provincial recruitment agencies. These are free and government funded, so a good starting place. The advantage is that you’ll see plenty of jobs from these services but, a bit like HR teams in the NHS, they can be overwhelmed with applications from IMGs all over the world and have very little time to offer up a bespoke service that fits your needs. And since they’re publicly funded, you get less in the way of relocation packages or enhanced pay packages. The main ones are Health Match BC (British Columbia), Practice Ontario via Ontario Health, Doctor Jobs Alberta, saskdocs (Saskatchewan) and Health Careers Manitoba.
3. Direct job boards. For browsing the market and approaching clinics directly. Good if you know exactly what you’re looking for and don’t mind dealing with registrations and visas on your own.

Whichever channel you use apply to a handful of communities in one province rather than making applications across Canada - you'll end up with better offers and licensing paperwork will be more straight forward.

Can you recommend job boards or agencies?

• BDI Resourcing – over 3,000 international placements and hundreds of 5* reviews; the absolute gold standard for worldwide medical recruitment. The honest downside is that they generally only work with MRCGP + CCT trained GPs – if you’ve come through other pathways then you might be better applying via other channels.
• Health Match BC (healthmatchbc.org) – BC’s official, free recruitment service; the busiest provincial pipeline for UK GPs.
• Practice Ontario (via ontariohealth.ca) – Ontario’s official matching service, with transition-to-practice support.
• Doctor Jobs Alberta, saskdocs.ca, Health Careers Manitoba – the equivalent provincial services for the Prairies.
• CFP Careers (classified.cfpc.ca) – the College of Family Physicians of Canada’s own job board; postings are all family medicine.
• Canada Job Bank (jobbank.gc.ca) – the federal job site; search “family physician” to gauge each province’s market.
• Locums.ca and Indeed.ca – for locum listings and a broad sweep of clinic vacancies.

Before I apply, what do I need to do?

1. Convert your CV to Canadian style. 2–4 pages, reverse-chronological, no photo, no date of birth, and spell out UK training so a Canadian reader gets it (MRCGP, CCT, what GPST involves).
2. Open a physiciansapply.ca account. Start source verification of your medical degree, CCT and MRCGP now - it’s the slowest step and every employer will ask where you’re up to in interviews.
3. Get a GMC Certificate of Good Standing 
4. Line up 2–3 referees who’ve seen you practise recently 
5. Check the CFPC self-assessment for Certification Without Examination so you can tell employers that you qualify for the no-exam route.
6. Stay in clinical practice - the no-exam route requires recent, continuous GP work so don’t resign and go travelling for a year before applying.

Interviews are normally by video and informal by UK standards, often discussing the community more than your clinical abilities. Then it’s on to licensing which you can learn about in our registration guide and then visas before we help you arrange flights.

If you're not quite ready and need to talk it through before committing then feel free to get in touch and we'll happily run through your situation and assess your options without any obligation.

Finding a GP job in Canada: a summary

The job hunt is the easiest part of the whole move and Canada is short of family doctors everywhere so UK GP with MRCGP are exactly who they’re trying to recruit. The process generally is to pick your province, register with a recruiter and start your credential verification the same week. Search under “family physician”, weigh up longitudinal practice against walk-in, hospitalist or rural generalist work and remember that pay and incentives climb the further you get from Vancouver and Toronto. Mid-sized towns usually offer the best all-round deals. Expect gross earnings of roughly CAD $250,000–$400,000 and favour a well-supported clinic over the flashiest billing split and read any return-of-service clause twice before signing. Get your Canadian-style CV, GMC good standing and referees lined up before you apply and the offers will come to you - often with a signing bonus and relocation money if you're willing to commit and be flexible. 

FAQs

What job title should I search for in Canada?

“Family physician” - it’s the Canadian term for GP and what nearly every vacancy is advertised under.

Where should I start my job search?

With a specialist international recruiter like BDI Resourcing or your chosen province’s HR agency - Saskdocs, Doctor Jobs Alberta or their equivalents.

Do I need a Canadian licence before applying for jobs?

No. Apply first - employers routinely hire international GPs mid-licensing and the job offer is what drives the licence and visa forward.

Which jobs are most in demand?

Full-service family practice, especially in mid-sized towns and rural communities - which is also where pay and incentives are highest.

What will I earn?

Roughly CAD $250,000–$400,000 gross depending on province and setting plus signing bonuses and relocation funding in many posts.

What should I check before signing a contract?

The overhead split, the payment model, guaranteed support in year one and any return-of-service clause tying you to the community.

Sources

• Health Match BC — Government-funded health recruitment service, British Columbia
• Practice Ontario — Ontario Health
• Family Physicians – saskdocs — Saskatchewan Healthcare Recruitment Agency
• CFP Careers Job Board — College of Family Physicians of Canada
• Job Bank – Family Physician Listings — Government of Canada
• Physician Compensation and Recruitment — Government of British Columbia

Thinking about moving to Canada?

Moving to Canada is a big step for any GP. It's a career move but also a big life change too. If you want to know more about the registration process, what it's like moving overseas, life and work in Canada, how much you'll actually earn, visa processes or anything that's playing on your mind then let me know. I've helped thousands of doctors make international moves so I understand how big a commitment it is and all of the steps along the way. Drop me a message and I'll get back to you or we can arrange a call.

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Equally if you're ready to make the move then take a look over some of our live jobs – if you're looking for something specific I can connect you with hundreds of independent clinics as well as all of the major corporates who are consistently hiring.

Browse live Canada GP jobs →