Ten provinces, ten different routes

Since 6 July 2026, a qualifying UK-trained family physician may pursue BC’s Full – family licence through the recognized foreign postgraduate training route. The core requirement is at least two years of accredited family-medicine training in a jurisdiction recognised by the CFPC for certification without examination; the UK is included. CPSBC also reviews the medical degree and source-verified credentials, scope, good standing, English evidence and clinical currency. Currency normally means at least 24 weeks and 960 clinical hours in the relevant scope during the preceding three years.

CCFP, MCCQE, LMCC, a practice-ready assessment, supervision and return of service are not blanket entry conditions for this route. A physician with less than 12 months of full-time-equivalent independent practice in Canada normally completes the BC Physician Integration Program within the first year after licensure. BC-PIP is an orientation and integration requirement, not a provisional licence or supervised PRA.

Alberta’s Approved Jurisdiction Route can lead directly to the General Register. It applies to independent-practice applications made on or after 9 June 2025, with CPSA deciding the appropriate route after reviewing the file. For UK family medicine, the published profile is completion of a GMC-accredited GP vocational programme that meets RCGP standards plus a CCT in general practice. MRCGP alone should not be treated as a substitute for the published CCT requirement.

For an aligned applicant, CPSA’s route table waives MCC examinations, Canadian family-medicine certification examinations, the Therapeutics Decision-Making examination, PRA orientation and preliminary clinical assessment. The applicant still needs verified credentials, certificates of professional conduct, required criminal-record checks, English-language evidence or an accepted exemption, and satisfactory whole-file review. The route does not normally impose a practice-ready assessment, supervision or return of service.

Under a bylaw effective 3 July 2026, a qualifying internationally trained family physician may pursue a Regular licence. The applicant must have completed a family-medicine training programme that the CFPC recognises as making its graduates eligible for CCFP without examination and must have obtained family-medicine certification in the country of training. This uses CFPC recognition of the programme; it does not necessarily require the applicant to already hold CCFP.

The all-class requirements still matter. CPSS reviews the medical degree, source verification, good standing, certificates of professional conduct, English evidence, clinical currency, competence and conduct. The applicant must also provide MCCQE, accepted US examinations or another form of appropriate medical-knowledge evidence acceptable to Council. Where the evidence relies on Council discretion, the file needs individual confirmation. The new Regular-licence clause does not publish a blanket employer sponsor, supervision, PRA or return-of-service requirement.

The live UK GP route is Provisional Registration – Family Practice Limited, not direct Full registration. A conventional UK applicant can use written CFPC confirmation of eligibility following an approved-jurisdiction family-medicine programme. CPSM also reviews the acceptable degree, source-verified training and certification, recent practice, English evidence, good standing, checks and references.

This route depends on an employment or sponsorship opportunity, a Minister-approved geographic area or practice setting, and a satisfactory practice supervisor. CFPC approved-jurisdiction eligibility can remove the preliminary PRA and separate mentor requirements, but it does not remove supervision. The physician practises with stated limits and conditions and must work towards Full Practising registration, normally within five years. As reviewed on 24 July 2026, Manitoba’s proposed approved-jurisdiction route to Full licensure was still in public consultation and must not be presented as available.

Ontario’s direct route coordinates CPSO review with the CFPC jurisdictional route. A conventional UK GP generally needs an acceptable degree, GMC-accredited vocational training, training-based MRCGP, CCT or the older CPE, active unrestricted registration and recent UK family-medicine practice. The important sequence is CPSO Registration Committee approval for the Ontario–CFPC process, CCFP awarded without examination, then issuance of the appropriate CPSO certificate.

Without LMCC, an aligned applicant may receive a provisional certificate to practise independently, limited to the physician’s scope of practice. “Provisional” here does not mean routine supervision. With the accepted MCCQE requirement and LMCC, the applicant may qualify for an independent practice certificate. The direct route does not impose a standard PRA, supervisor, job offer or return of service. Non-standard training, practice-eligible certification or CFPC currency issues need a different assessment.

Québec does not publish an Ontario-style direct UK recognition route. The practical route for an established UK GP is usually the restrictive clinician permit and practice-ready assessment. It requires an acceptable source-verified degree, MCCQE or another listed examination, postgraduate training and certification that CMQ judges broadly equivalent, at least 12 months of competent practice in the previous three years, sponsorship by a Québec health institution, good standing and the required French evidence.

Where French must be proven through the OQLF examination, CMQ cannot begin arranging the restrictive-route assessment until it receives proof of a pass. The assessment is generally a continuous 12-week placement after an observation period. ALDO-Québec is also required before issuance. Even when the measurable criteria are present, training equivalence and readiness remain individual CMQ decisions. The resulting permit is normally limited by institution, location and authorised acts. The regular route generally involves Québec/Canadian postgraduate training and Canadian examinations, so it is a retraining route for most established UK GPs.

A UK CCT and MRCGP alone are not a published basis for direct Regular licensure in New Brunswick. The practical first route is usually a Special licence requested by a Regional Health Authority or another eligible public institution. It is tied to the approved employer, location and scope and includes approved supervision.

CPSNB reviews the acceptable degree and source-verified credentials, recognised family-medicine training and certification, language, currency, good standing, fitness and practice history. The published route normally expects at least 450 clinical hours in the previous three years, at least one year of independent practice after certification, and the required training or experience basis. A Special licence does not automatically become Regular after a set period. A physician may later pursue CCFP through the jurisdictional route and make a separate Regular application; PRA-NB and the Defined class are different routes with their own examinations, assessment and service conditions.

Nova Scotia’s approved-jurisdiction policy, approved on 12 December 2025, can lead a qualifying UK GP to a Full licence. The UK profile is GMC-accredited GP vocational training meeting RCGP standards plus MRCGP, with training and certification completed in the same approved jurisdiction.

The applicant also needs a recognised medical degree, source verification, English evidence, at least 450 hours of relevant clinical practice in the previous three years, and LMCC or a published acceptable alternative. One alternative is five years of qualifying postgraduate training and/or independent specialty practice with the required recent independent-practice intensity. Before the licence is issued, CPSNS requires an offer letter or confirmation of privileges from Nova Scotia Health or IWK. The older Defined licence remains a separate supervised option for some applicants who do not meet the Full route; it should not be presented as the default UK GP pathway.

PEI accepts qualifying UK family-medicine training and current UK family-medicine certification as an alternative to CCFP. With an acceptable alternative to LMCC, a successful applicant may obtain General registration without conditions or restrictions. Published LMCC alternatives include specified US examinations, an acceptable degree plus MCCQE and at least one year of satisfactory postgraduate training, or five years of qualifying post-training practice as the most responsible physician at the required annual intensity, subject to Registrar satisfaction.

The full file also includes source verification, language, good standing, references, criminal checks and at least 450 hours as the most responsible physician in the previous three years. PEI does not currently operate its own practice-ready assessment programme. A complete UK profile should therefore be assessed against General registration first, not directed to a fictional “PRA-PEI.”

Since 19 February 2026, CPSNL’s Approved Jurisdiction Full Licence policy allows a qualifying UK-trained family physician to pursue a Full licence. The applicant must have completed postgraduate family-medicine training in a jurisdiction approved by the CFPC and satisfactorily completed family-medicine certification in that jurisdiction.

Applicants under this policy are exempt from the Canadian medical examination requirements that would otherwise apply. CPSNL still reviews the medical degree, source-verified credentials, good standing, conduct, English evidence, scope and clinical currency. The current currency policy normally requires at least 450 hours of direct clinical practice in the intended area during the preceding three years. Falling short leads to regulator review of assessment or remediation rather than an automatic permanent refusal. Older provisional-route material should not displace the newer Full route for an aligned applicant.