Psychiatrist

A medical doctor who diagnoses and treats mental illness, and can prescribe. Five years of residency, and good job prospects across Canada.

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

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Where to study to become a psychiatrist in Canada

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Quick answers

How much does a psychiatrist 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 psychiatrist in Canada?

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

What does it cost to become a psychiatrist?

$73,000 to $165,000 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.

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

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

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Psychiatrist salary in Canada

What you earn and what it costs to get there.

What psychiatrists make

Median

$311,000

Lower end

$126,000

Upper end

$607,000

Job Bank does not give psychiatrists a figure of their own. It pools them with 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. Practice costs are low. Pay varies by province and by whether you bill per visit or take a salary.

What the health plan pays

About $329,000

Median gross clinical payment, psychiatry doctors, 2024 to 2025

CIHI (Canadian Institute for Health Information) counts 5,916 doctors in this group. The middle 60% were paid $163,000 to $527,000. 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), over the 5 years of psychiatry residency

Set by the 2023 to 2026 agreement between PARO (Professional Association of Residents of Ontario) and Ontario's teaching hospitals. Other provinces have their own agreements and pay scales.

Where pay is highest

About $344,000

The Job Bank median for medical specialists in Manitoba, the highest of any province

Quebec is almost level at about $343,000, and Nova Scotia is lowest at about $207,000. These figures pool all specialists, not psychiatrists alone. Psychiatry needs little equipment, so office costs are small.

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 the Royal College certification exam: $1,500 for the MCCQE, plus several thousand for the Royal College exam

Roughly, all in

$73,000 to $165,000

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

The low end is a three year undergraduate degree at around $7,000 a year, then a three year medical school program at roughly $15,000 a year, plus the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) and application costs and the final exams. The high end is a four year undergraduate degree, four years of medical school near $28,000 a year, and the fuller exam bill: about $1,500 for the MCCQE (Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination) plus several thousand for the Royal College certification exam. Typical debt at graduation is $80,000 to $150,000, and most of it is financed through a line of credit whose interest is not counted here. The five residency years are paid, which is how most people start clearing the balance before they ever practise independently.

Typical debt at the end of medical school is $80,000 to $150,000. Five paid residency years help you start paying it down.

Benefits

Salary and pension in many hospital jobs
Many psychiatry jobs are salaried or blended. Ontario residents are in HOOPP (the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan) during training.
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.
Flexible schedule
Few emergencies outside hospital work, and a large share of visits can be by video.

How to become a psychiatrist in Canada

The exact path from high school to qualified.

The path to becoming a psychiatrist, step by step

Same road as every doctor, then 5 years learning the mind.

1
High school
Grades 11 and 12
Top marks in biology, chemistry, math and English. Psychology courses are a bonus, not a requirement.
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
Admission is very competitive, and most applicants are turned down. Classes, then clinical rotations including a psychiatry block.
4
Psychiatry residency
5 years
Matched through CaRMS (the residency matching service). Inpatient wards, emergency psychiatry, child, geriatric and addiction rotations, plus supervised psychotherapy.
5
Certification and licence
End of residency
Pass the Royal College exam to become FRCPC (Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada), then register with your provincial College of Physicians and Surgeons.

High school courses that help you become a psychiatrist

Biology and chemistry
Required for nearly every pre-med path.
Calculus and functions
Psychology and social science
Not required, but the MCAT (medical school admission test) has a psychology section.
English
Listening and writing are most of this job.

Time and money, at a glance

Years after high school: 11 to 13
Med school acceptance rate: Very competitive, most applicants are turned down
Residency match: Less competitive than most specialties, spots often go unfilled
Total tuition: $66,000 to $152,000
Paid while training?: Only during residency

Heavily regulated

You need a licence from your provincial College of Physicians and Surgeons to practise, and Royal College certification to call yourself a psychiatrist. Psychologists and psychotherapists are different, separately regulated professions and cannot prescribe. The Royal College credential is national, so moving provinces is mostly paperwork.

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
Psychiatry residency
5 years
Matched through CaRMS (the residency matching service), straight from medical school. 5 years at all four Quebec faculties. McGill trains in English; Montréal, Laval and Sherbrooke in French.
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.

Psychiatry residency in Quebec

At McGill the first year mixes medical rotations such as neurology and emergency with psychiatry, the third year splits between child and geriatric psychiatry, and everyone does a rural rotation. Laval builds psychotherapy training into the residency. Montréal trains at the CHUM (the Université de Montréal hospital centre), the Montreal university mental health institute and CHU Sainte-Justine (the children's hospital), and asks for B2 level French from residents not schooled in French.

What helps you get ahead as a psychiatrist

Things you don't need, but that help.

Subspecialties that change the job

Each is a 1 to 2 year fellowship after residency.

Child and adolescent psychiatry
The most short-staffed area in the country. Long waits everywhere.
Forensic psychiatry
Courts, jails and secure hospitals. Assessments for fitness to stand trial.
Geriatric psychiatry
Dementia, late-life depression. Growing fast as Canada ages.
Addiction medicine
Opioid and alcohol treatment, often in community clinics.

Nice-to-haves before med school

Crisis line or peer support volunteering
Shows you can sit with people in distress.
Research experience
Helps at some schools.
French
Opens Ottawa, New Brunswick and Quebec programs.
Comfort with uncertainty
There are no blood tests for depression. You will work from what people tell you.

Therapy or medication?

Both. Psychiatrists are trained in psychotherapy during residency, but in practice many focus on diagnosis and medication and refer talk therapy to psychologists or therapists. Some build a private practice that is mostly therapy. You get to choose the mix.

What being a psychiatrist is really like

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

What a psychiatrist does day to day

A hospital psychiatrist rounds on an inpatient unit in the morning, sees new patients in the emergency department, and does consults for other doctors. An outpatient psychiatrist sees 8 to 15 people a day, 20 to 60 minutes each, many by video. Assessments involve a lot of listening, then a plan: medication, therapy, or both. Notes and forms fill the gaps.

The honest pros and cons of being a psychiatrist

The good

Job Bank rates prospects good or very good everywhere it gives a rating
Low overhead and real schedule control
Video visits make it the most remote-friendly specialty
You see people recover in ways that change their lives

The hard parts

Suicide, psychosis and trauma are part of every week
Emergency shifts can include agitated or violent patients
Progress is slow and some patients do not get better
A decade of school and six figures of debt

Work life

Typical hours: 40 to 50 a week, call in hospital roles
Remote work: Common, much of outpatient care is by video
Physical demand: Low
Unionized: Residents yes, attending doctors no

Similar paths

Things nobody tells you about being a psychiatrist

Things people don't tell you.

1 in 2 Canadians by age 40

CAMH (the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) says half of all Canadians have had a mental illness by the time they turn 40.

Canada's biggest mental health hospital

CAMH (the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) in Toronto is the country's largest mental health teaching hospital and one of the biggest research centres of its kind in the world.

The match goes unfilled

Psychiatry usually has residency spots left over after the first round of CaRMS (the residency matching service), even though the country needs far more psychiatrists. Fewer students choose it than the system needs.

How a psychiatrist 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.