New policy aims to prioritize local students and address physician shortages by reserving medical school admissions for Canadian applicants
The Ontario government has announced that, beginning in 2026, international students will no longer be eligible to enroll in Ontario's medical schools. Premier Doug Ford stated that this measure aims to prioritize Ontario residents in medical school admissions to help address the province's ongoing physician shortage, especially in underserved regions.
Ontario has faced a persistent shortage of physicians, particularly in rural and remote communities, where healthcare access remains a significant issue. Sylvia Jones, Ontario's health minister, remarked that the policy aims to ensure that medical education slots are allocated to Ontario residents more likely to stay in the province and work within the province's healthcare system.
International students currently represent less than one per cent of admissions in Ontario medical schools in the 2023-2024 school year, with the remainder being Canadian residents. The policy shift intends to reallocate these seats exclusively to Canadian students to address the province's healthcare needs. The province will reserve 95 per cent of seats for Ontario residents, with out-of-province admissions accounting for the remaining five per cent.
The province will reserve 95 per cent of seats for Ontario residents, with out-of-province admissions accounting for the remaining five per cent.
With this ban, many international pre-med students will need to seek alternatives. Riya Patel, an international undergraduate student at McMaster, spoke to the Silhouette about how this will effect international students with aspirations of applying to medical school in Canada. "I know so many people who are crushed by this because what are [they] supposed to do now? They went into these good schools [for] pre-med and now, what are their chances, what are their future paths?," said Patel.
I know so many people who are crushed by this because what are [they] supposed to do now?
Riya Patel, international undergraduate student
Alongside the new ban, the Ontario government is introducing a series of programs to encourage Ontario-trained physicians to work in Ontario as family doctors. The government will cover the cost of 1,000 of these students' tuition for those who agree to stay and practice family medicine in Ontario, costing the government $88 million. This subsidy is expected to be put in place starting in 2026 along with the ban on international students.
By: Daanish Kachalia and Ryan Veerasammy
Juggling an academic, social and personal life, it’s no wonder that many students, ourselves included, wish there were more hours in the day. For the past few weeks, we have been committed to maximizing each day — starting with waking up early. Starting our days at 6 a.m. has markedly improved our lives.
Leaving the house before the sun rises invokes a feeling like no other. It is extremely satisfying to succeed in the challenge of waking up early. As a result of our early wake-up time, we found that we were motivated to be more productive as we didn’t want to waste the effort it took to get out of bed.
Even though the initial step of waking up can be difficult, the rewards are invaluable. In order to take that first step, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were required.
Our intrinsic motivation consisted of researching the effects of waking up early as a student.
Texas University conducted a study where they found that students who classified themselves as “morning people” had a higher grade point average compared to the average student. A different study completed by Harvard University concluded that individuals who wake up early are more proactive and anticipate problems better.
Our extrinsic motivation stemmed from one another. We challenged each other that if we were not awake by 6 a.m., the person that woke up late would have to buy the other a coffee. By creating a competition, we were more motivated to complete the challenge.
One of the largest challenges in waking up early that we both encountered was restraining from pressing the snooze button. To combat this, we kept our alarms away from our beds so we were forced to get up when they went off in the morning.
Before starting this challenge, we both never had the time to eat breakfast. Now, we incorporated this meal into our everyday life. This has contributed towards a healthier lifestyle and an overall improved outlook for the day.
As the days pass, it is becoming easier to wake up earlier in the morning as our bodies are adjusting to this new routine. We have also noticed reduced stress levels as we can take additional time to complete tasks without feeling rushed or pressured.
We encourage the students of McMaster University to take on the challenge of waking up early. From our experience, we can assure that accomplishing this challenge on a continuous basis will undoubtedly affect your life in a positive way!
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