Last year we wrote a blog about The College of Family Physicians of Canada's plans to extend family medicine residency training from two years to three years. The intention was to expand the curriculum and prepare physicians to deal with more complex patient care including elder care, mental health and addictions, new technologies, and to help them work in multi-disciplinary teams with new technologies.

This significant change was originally scheduled to start in 2027.

As a result of an overwhelming response against extending training, this November we saw a reversal of this decision. More than 91 per cent of the 2,775 physicians registered to vote at the CFPC's annual membership meeting approved a motion to "immediately cease the implementation of the third year in family practice program," establish an independent review committee to present recommendations, then decide what to do, based on evidence.

At a time when one in five Canadians is without a family physician, there is concern an extra year of training would make the shortage even worse and negatively impact the whole healthcare system. Physicians, medical students, residents, and provincial health ministers spoke out against the mandate, and their voices were heard loud and clear.

On November 8th, 2023, the CFPC President Mike Green, released a message stating "We have ceased the implementation of the third year in family medicine residency training and will undertake a comprehensive review of this decision guided by the member motion that was put forward at the 2023 AMM."