Hematologist

The blood doctor. Leukemia, clots, anemia and transfusions, five years of residency after medical school, often a salaried job in a cancer centre.

Typical pay: $311,000a year
Time to qualify: 11 to 13 yearsafter high school
Demand: Good
Licence needed: Yesregulated job

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Quick answers

How much does a hematologist make in Canada?

The median pay is about $311,000 a year. Across everyone in the job it runs from about $126,000 at the lower end to about $607,000 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.

How long does it take to become a hematologist in Canada?

11 to 13 years after high school, on the usual route.

What does it cost to become a hematologist?

$70,000 to $159,000 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.

Do you need a licence to work as a hematologist in Canada?

Yes. It is a regulated job, so you need a licence or registration before you can work.

What is the job outlook for a hematologist in Canada?

Good demand nationally, from government outlook data. Demand varies by region, so check your area.

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Hematologist salary in Canada

What you earn and what it costs to get there.

What hematologists make

Median

$311,000

Lower end

$126,000

Upper end

$607,000

Job Bank does not give hematologists a figure of their own. Its page for hematologists uses the figure for all medical specialists: a median of about $311,000 a year (low $126,000, high $607,000) for 2023 to 2024. Most doctors in Canada bill the provincial health plan, and published billing figures are gross payments before office and practice costs, not take-home pay. Most hematologists work in hospitals or cancer centres on salary or contract, with almost no practice costs. It varies by province and by how you bill.

What the health plan pays

About $429,000

Median gross clinical payment, internal medicine, which CIHI groups with its subspecialties such as hematology, 2024 to 2025

CIHI (Canadian Institute for Health Information) counts 14,004 doctors in this group. The middle 60% were paid $219,000 to $726,000. This is billing before office, staff and other practice costs, not take-home pay. Read from CIHI's data tables, downloaded in a browser with Claude in Chrome on 6 November 2026, because cihi.ca refuses our checker.

During residency

$73,000 to $99,000

A year in Ontario from July 1, 2025, in postgraduate years 1 to 5 (PGY1 to PGY5): 3 years of internal medicine, then 2 of hematology

Set by the 2023 to 2026 agreement between PARO (Professional Association of Residents of Ontario) and Ontario's teaching hospitals, which ran to June 30, 2026. This is its latest published scale. Other provinces have their own agreements and pay scales.

Where pay is highest

About $343,500 a year

The median in Manitoba, the highest in Canada, with Quebec close behind at about $343,000

Ontario's median is about $295,800 and Nova Scotia's is the lowest of the provinces, at about $207,000. Like the national figure, these cover all specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine, and are payments before practice costs.

What it costs to get there

Undergrad degree (3 to 4 years): $7,000 to $10,000 a year
Medical school, the MD (doctor of medicine), 3 to 4 years: $15,000 to $28,000 a year
MCAT (medical school admission test), applications, interviews: $2,000 to $5,000
Licensing exam (the MCCQE, the national medical exam) and two Royal College exams (internal medicine, then hematology): $1,500 for the MCCQE, plus a fee for each Royal College exam

Roughly, all in

$70,000 to $159,000

Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel

The low end is a three year undergraduate degree at the cheapest domestic tuition, three years at a lower cost medical school, the MCAT (medical school admission test) with applications, and the $1,500 MCCQE (the national Canadian licensing exam). The high end is a four year degree, four years at an expensive medical school and the same exams. Neither figure includes the two Royal College specialty exams, first internal medicine and then hematology, or the five residency years, which are salaried, so you earn while you finish training. Most graduates still leave medical school owing money, because living costs sit on top of the tuition counted here.

Roughly $70,000 to $159,000 before living costs and the Royal College exam fees. Five paid residency years help you pay down what you borrow.

Benefits

A pension during training
Ontario residents can join HOOPP (the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan). After training, pensions depend on how you are paid.
Union contract during residency
Provincial residents' associations negotiate pay, call limits and leave.
Malpractice coverage
Through the CMPA (Canadian Medical Protective Association), mostly reimbursed by the province.
Protected research time
Academic centres often pay for a day a week of research or teaching.

How to become a hematologist in Canada

The exact path from high school to qualified.

The path to becoming a hematologist, step by step

You become an internal medicine doctor first, then a blood specialist.

1
High school
Grades 11 and 12
Top marks in biology, chemistry, math and English. You need a very high average for a science undergrad.
2
Bachelor's degree
3 to 4 years
Any major works. Keep a GPA (grade point average) above 3.8, volunteer, do research. Write the MCAT (medical school admission test).
3
Medical school, the MD (doctor of medicine)
3 to 4 years
Very hard to get into: most applicants are not offered a place. Classes, then clinical rotations.
4
Internal medicine residency
3 years
Matched through CaRMS (the residency matching service). Hospital wards, the ICU (intensive care unit) and clinics. In year 3 you apply to the subspecialty match.
5
Hematology residency, then certification
2 years
Leukemia and lymphoma wards, clotting and bleeding clinics, the blood bank, and reading blood and bone marrow under the microscope. Pass the Royal College exams to become FRCPC (Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada) and register with your provincial College of Physicians and Surgeons.

High school courses that help you become a hematologist

Biology
Blood cells, genetics and the immune system are the whole subject.
Chemistry
Required for nearly every pre-med path.
Calculus and functions
Chemotherapy dosing and clinical trial statistics are daily math.
Physics
Tested on the MCAT (medical school admission test).

Time and money, at a glance

Years after high school: 11 to 13
Med school acceptance rate: Low: most applicants are not offered a place
Total tuition: $66,000 to $152,000
Paid while training?: Only during residency, 5 years of it

Heavily regulated

You need a licence from your provincial College of Physicians and Surgeons to practise, and Royal College certification in both internal medicine and hematology. The Royal College certification is national, so moving provinces is mostly paperwork. Quebec's licence requires French. In Canada, hematologists treat blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma themselves; medical oncologists focus on solid tumours.

Quebec routeIn Quebec? The route is different. 3 more cards.

The path in Quebec

In Quebec you apply to medical school straight from CEGEP (public college), with no bachelor's degree first.

1
Finish Secondary V
Age 16 or 17
With Secondary V math (Technical and Scientific, or Science option), chemistry and physics. These are the entry courses for the CEGEP (public college) science program.
2
Science DEC (Diploma of College Studies)
2 years
A 2 year CEGEP (public college) program (200.B1), offered in English at Dawson and the other English colleges. Take the biology and chemistry courses medical schools ask for.
3
Medical school, straight from CEGEP
4 to 5 years
No bachelor's degree needed. McGill and Montréal start with a 1 year preparatory year, Laval and Sherbrooke do not. You need a top R-score (the CEGEP ranking score), the Casper test and interviews.
4
Internal medicine, then hematology
5 years
Matched through CaRMS (the residency matching service). 3 years of internal medicine, then 2 of adult hematology, including blood banking, coagulation and stem cell transplants.
5
Royal College exam and CMQ (Collège des médecins du Québec) permit
End of residency
Pass the Royal College exams. The CMQ, the Quebec college of physicians, then issues your permit and specialist certificate once you show French. A Quebec high school diploma counts.
6
Get a hospital position
Before you start
Every specialist working in a Quebec hospital must hold a spot in its PEM (plan d'effectifs médicaux, the medical staffing plan). The health ministry approves how many each hospital gets.

Medical schools in Quebec

Université de Montréal: 1 preparatory year plus 4 years, in French, in Montreal or Trois-Rivières
McGill University: Med-P preparatory year plus 4 years, in English in Montreal or in French in Gatineau
Université Laval: 4 years (or 4.5 to 5 at your own pace in Quebec City), in French, in Quebec City, Lévis or Rimouski
Université de Sherbrooke: 4 years, in French, in Sherbrooke, Longueuil or Chicoutimi

Montréal and Laval set a minimum R-score (the CEGEP ranking score) of 33 for CEGEP applicants in 2026. McGill's Med-P year is only for recent CEGEP graduates.

Hemato-oncology in Quebec

Quebec has a combined route for hematologists who also want to treat other cancers. At Université de Montréal, after 3 years of internal medicine and 2 of hematology, you can enter the medical oncology program in your sixth year of residency. That makes you eligible for Royal College certificates in both, as a hemato-oncologist.

What helps you get ahead as a hematologist

Things you don't need, but that help.

Focus areas that shape the job

Most hematologists pick a lane after residency, often with an extra fellowship year.

Malignant hematology
Leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Chemotherapy, immunotherapy and stem cell transplants. Intense and rewarding.
Benign hematology
Clots, bleeding disorders, anemia and sickle cell disease. Clinic-based, fewer emergencies.
Transfusion medicine
Running the blood bank and keeping the hospital supplied with safe blood. Lab-based.
Stem cell transplant
Rebuilding a patient's whole blood system from donor cells. Only at major centres.

Nice-to-haves before med school

Research experience
Hematology is one of the most research-driven specialties. Programs notice publications.
Comfort with a microscope
Hematologists still diagnose by looking at cells with their own eyes.
French
Opens Ottawa, New Brunswick and Quebec programs.
Emotional steadiness
Some of your patients will be young, and some will not survive.

What being a hematologist is really like

Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.

What a hematologist does day to day

Morning rounds on the leukemia ward: patients mid-chemotherapy with no immune system, watching for fevers and bleeding. Then the microscope, reading blood smears and bone marrow samples to make diagnoses. Afternoon clinic: a lymphoma patient in remission, someone with a clot in the leg, a teenager with anemia that does not add up. Calls from the blood bank about a difficult transfusion. Academic hematologists spend a day or two a week on research.

The honest pros and cons of being a hematologist

The good

Teamwork in hospitals and cancer centres
Blood cancers are among the most curable cancers, and you see the cures
A rare mix of lab work, microscope and patient care
Strong research and teaching options

The hard parts

11 to 13 years of training after high school
Some patients are young and some die despite everything
Leukemia call is heavy: fevers in patients with no immune system are emergencies
Mostly limited to bigger cities with cancer centres

Work life

Typical hours: 50 to 55 a week including call
Remote work: Little, some virtual follow-ups
Physical demand: Low to moderate
Unionized: Residents yes, attending doctors no

Similar paths

Things nobody tells you about being a hematologist

Things people don't tell you.

6,500 new leukemia cases a year

The Canadian Cancer Society projects about 6,500 people in Canada will be diagnosed with leukemia in 2026, and about 3,200 will die of it. Leukemia is one of the blood cancers hematologists treat.

Rebooting a person's blood

In a stem cell transplant, the patient's diseased marrow is cleared with chemotherapy, then donor stem cells rebuild it. Canadian Blood Services says these transplants treat over 80 diseases, and 90% of donations are now collected from the blood, not the bone.

Canada needs a million new blood donors

In May 2025, Canadian Blood Services set a goal of 1 million new donors in five years. Only 2% of the people in Canada who could give blood do.

How a hematologist compares

Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.

More health careers in Canada

Doctors first, then the rest of the field. See every career in health.

Where these numbers come from

Last checked November 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students. How every figure on this site is sourced and checked.