Radiologist

The doctor who reads X-rays, scans and ultrasounds and tells other doctors what is wrong. Five years of residency, and high pay.

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 radiologist in Canada

Programs in the fields this career usually comes through. Each has its own page: what it takes to get in, the courses you need and what it costs.

Health Sciences (Radiological Technology)Dalhousie, minimum overall average 75%; competitive, no published cut-off

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Quick answers

How much does a radiologist 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 radiologist in Canada?

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

What does it cost to become a radiologist?

$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 radiologist 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 radiologist in Canada?

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

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Radiologist salary in Canada

What you earn and what it costs to get there.

What radiologists make

Median

$311,000

Lower end

$126,000

Upper end

$607,000

Job Bank does not give radiologists 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. Hospital radiologists have low practice costs; clinic owners have high costs but own the machines. It varies by province and by how you bill.

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 diagnostic radiology 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. Most radiologists bill a fee for every study they read, so volume drives income.

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 roughly $7,000 a year, three years of medical school near $15,000 a year, and the exam and application bill including the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test). The high end is a four year undergraduate degree, four years of medical school approaching $28,000 a year, about $1,500 for the MCCQE (Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination) and several thousand more for the Royal College certification exam. Typical debt at graduation is $80,000 to $150,000, and the interest on the line of credit that funds it is not counted in these figures. The five year residency is paid, and radiologist income clears the debt quickly once you are in practice.

Typical debt at the end of medical school is $80,000 to $150,000. Radiologists clear it quickly once in practice.

Benefits

Pension only if salaried
Most are self-employed and save on their own. 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.
Work from home
Reading scans from a home workstation is normal, especially for night and weekend cover.

How to become a radiologist in Canada

The exact path from high school to qualified.

The path to becoming a radiologist, step by step

Same road as every doctor, then 5 years learning to see what others miss.

1
High school
Grades 11 and 12
Top marks in biology, chemistry, math and English. Physics helps, since imaging is physics applied to bodies.
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 competitive: most applicants are turned down. Classes, then clinical rotations. Radiology electives matter a lot for the match.
4
Diagnostic radiology residency
5 years
Matched through CaRMS (the residency matching service). X-ray, CT (computed tomography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), ultrasound, mammography and basic procedures.
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. Most add a 1-year fellowship.

High school courses that help you become a radiologist

Biology and chemistry
Required for nearly every pre-med path.
Physics
X-rays, magnets and sound waves are the tools of the trade. Also on the MCAT (medical school admission test).
Calculus and functions
Visual arts or design
Odd but true: pattern recognition is the core skill.

Time and money, at a glance

Years after high school: 11 to 13
Getting into medical school: Very competitive, most applicants are turned down
Residency match: Competitive, one of the harder specialties to get
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 in diagnostic radiology. Imaging clinics are also licensed and inspected by the province. The Royal College credential is national, so moving provinces is mostly paperwork. Quebec requires working French.

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
Diagnostic radiology residency
5 years
Matched through CaRMS (the residency matching service) when you finish medical school. 5 years at all four Quebec faculties, starting with a year of medical and surgical rotations. Montréal, Laval and Sherbrooke train 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.

Radiology residency in Quebec

McGill trains at the Jewish General, the Montreal General, the Royal Victoria and the Montreal Children's. Montréal trains its residents across five hospitals and asks residents whose first language is not French for a French test score. Sherbrooke residents spend a rotation in children's imaging at Sainte-Justine in Montreal. At McGill, interventional radiology adds a sixth year after the 5.

What helps you get ahead as a radiologist

Things you don't need, but that help.

Fellowships that change the job

Almost every radiologist does 1 to 2 years of fellowship after residency.

Interventional radiology
Treat through tiny incisions using imaging: unblock arteries, drain abscesses, stop bleeding. Procedure-heavy and on call.
Neuroradiology
Brain and spine imaging, stroke calls at 3 a.m.
Breast imaging
Mammography and biopsies. Regular hours, patient contact.
Pediatric, musculoskeletal, body or chest imaging
Pick an organ system and read it all day.

Nice-to-haves before med school

Research experience
Radiology programs like publications.
Comfort with computers
The whole job happens on screens.
French
Opens Ottawa, New Brunswick and Quebec programs.
Attention to detail
The finding that matters is often 3 millimetres wide.

Nuclear medicine is separate

Scans that use radioactive tracers, like PET (positron emission tomography), belong to nuclear medicine, a separate 5-year Royal College specialty. Some radiologists train in both. Ask about it if the idea of imaging how organs work, not just how they look, appeals to you.

What being a radiologist is really like

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

What a radiologist does day to day

Most of the day is in a dim reading room with two or three large screens. You work through a list: chest X-rays in seconds, a CT (computed tomography) scan of the belly in minutes, a tricky MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of the spine longer. You dictate a report for each. Between studies, surgeons and emergency doctors call to ask what you see. Some days include biopsies or ultrasound-guided procedures.

The honest pros and cons of being a radiologist

The good

High income
Reading from home is realistic
Every organ, every disease, every age crosses your screen
Little direct patient conflict or emotional load

The hard parts

Long hours alone at a screen
Volume pressure: hospitals always want scans read faster
AI (artificial intelligence) will keep changing the work over your career
A decade of school and six figures of debt

Work life

Typical hours: 45 to 55 a week, plus call
Remote work: Common for reading, not for procedures
Physical demand: Low, mostly seated
Unionized: Residents yes, attending doctors no

Similar paths

Things nobody tells you about being a radiologist

Things people don't tell you.

The first Nobel Prize in Physics

Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays in 1895 and won the very first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. Within a year, hospitals in Canada were taking X-ray pictures.

You may never meet your patients

A hospital radiologist can read studies all day and speak to none of the people in them. The exception is interventional and breast radiologists, who see patients all day.

How a radiologist 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 October 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.