GPA for medical school in Canada

These numbers sit far apart. McMaster's minimum is 3.00, but its Fall 2026 entering class had a 3.94 mean. In that class, 180 of the 216 admitted students had between 3.90 and 4.00. Only one had less than 3.60. A minimum tells you that you can apply. It doesn't tell you how likely an offer is.

Medical school in Canada also starts after university, not after high school. Your GPA comes from your undergraduate courses. Most schools want at least two or three years of a degree, and several want a finished four-year degree. So the GPA that matters is the one you'll build from your first year of university onward.

Minimums are strict. uOttawa says an applicant 0.02 below 3.50 won't move forward, with no exceptions. McMaster checks the 3.00 against grades on file by its October deadline. If you're near a floor, the exact calculation matters more than a rounded number on your transcript.

Some schools set two minimums based on where you live. Alberta needs 3.30 from Albertans and 3.50 from everyone else. Calgary needs 3.20 from Alberta residents and 3.80 from others. Memorial is the exception at the other end. It sets no minimum at all and reviews each academic record as a whole.

Queen's shows a wider spread. Its incoming Class of 2030 averaged 3.79, with admitted GPAs from 3.06 to 4.0. NOSM's entering Class of 2026 also averaged 3.79. The Queen's range shows that a GPA near 3.1 can still end in an offer when the rest of the file is strong.

Western Canada posts figures in other forms. Alberta's admitted Fall 2025 class had a 3.84 mean for Albertans and 3.93 for others. Calgary's 2024-25 matriculants averaged 3.88. USask's Class of 2030 had an 88% average academic average. McGill's Canadians from outside Quebec who were invited to interview for Fall 2026 averaged 3.98.

Your home province can change the bar more than your program can. UBC's interim figures for its 2025/2026 applicants, read October 26, 2026, show BC invitees averaging 89.10%, while out-of-province invitees averaged 92.93%. Manitoba's lowest adjusted GPA for an out-of-province interview was 4.20 in 2025, on its 4.5 scale.

Ontario schools now reserve at least 95% of medical places for Ontario residents. That rule took effect on July 1, 2025. If you live outside Ontario, a strong GPA competes for a very small number of places there. If you live in Ontario, your home schools are where most of your realistic chances sit.

Each school then decides which converted grades to use. U of T uses every full-time undergraduate course in one GPA, with no weighting by year. McMaster counts every undergraduate course and treats all years equally. Queen's uses only the cumulative GPA and makes no allowance for a light or heavy course load. Western looks at two qualifying years. uOttawa uses your three most recent full-time years.

Small rules change real results. NOSM and Queen's both count the old and new grade when you repeat a course. NOSM adds 0.2 to the GPA of a finished graduate degree, but only after checking the 3.0 minimum. U of T leaves part-time courses out of its GPA. OUAC's conversion table didn't open for our October 26, 2026 check, so the school pages that link it are the sources here.

SFU goes furthest. Its adjusted GPA uses 60 units: your prerequisites plus courses you pick from your last 90 units. At least 30 units must be upper-division. You choose those courses when you apply. SFU's thresholds are 3.83 for its GPA option and 3.67 for its GPA and MCAT option, on a 4.33 scale.

SFU then filled its 205 Fall 2026 interview places by equal-probability selection from 447 applicants it judged aligned with its mission. Those came from 1,697 complete, academically eligible files. In that draw, every aligned applicant had the same chance, whatever their GPA above the threshold.

Scales also differ. UBC and USask work in percentages, SFU uses 4.33 and Manitoba uses 4.5. A 3.8 at one school and a 3.8 at another can describe different marks. Compare a figure only with other figures in the same row of the school table. Our Canadian GPA scales guide explains why university grading scales don't line up.

So choose a program where you can learn well and earn strong marks. A demanding program you dislike can cost you more GPA than it gives back in prestige. Check that its timetable leaves room for the prerequisites of the schools you might apply to. Our pre-med planning guide compares Health Sciences, Life Sciences and other routes.

Protect your course load as well as your marks. uOttawa only counts years with at least four graded courses per term. Western wants five full courses in a counted year. Alberta and Calgary only use full-time years. Dropping to a light load to lift your average can leave you with fewer years that count.

Think about where you'll apply before you pick a province. Many medical schools favour their own residents. Ontario reserves at least 95% of places for Ontario residents, and Alberta's minimum is lower for Albertans. If you're considering Quebec, read our McGill medicine requirements. If you're applying from outside Canada, start with which Canadian medical schools accept international applicants.

Some pages still show older cycles. Calgary's eligibility page lists Fall 2026 dates, and its newest statistics are from 2024-25. Manitoba's requirements page is labelled 2026-2027. The AFMC 2027 guide confirms both schools' minimums for 2027 admission. Alberta's statistics stop at the class admitted in Fall 2025. UBC's 2025/2026 figures are marked interim and subject to change.

Two sources disagree on Memorial. Memorial says past admits had at least an 80% average, which it equates to 3.2. The AFMC 2027 guide lists a 3.5 mean. Neither names a year. Dalhousie and TMU means also appear only in the AFMC guide, without a year. Treat these as rough signals, not targets.