Pharmacy programs in Canada

In Canada, the entry-to-practice degree for pharmacists is the PharmD. The Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs, or CCAPP, accredits these degrees. Its program finder lists ten universities: Alberta, UBC, Dalhousie, Laval, Manitoba, Memorial, Montréal, Saskatchewan, Toronto and Waterloo. Accreditation is a quality check. It isn't a ranking, so it can't tell you which school is best for you.

CCAPP's own pages don't fully match. A second CCAPP page lists the same ten plus the University of Ottawa. uOttawa's French-language Doctorat de premier cycle en pharmacie received provisional accreditation on June 10, 2024. CCAPP says graduates of a provisionally accredited program are treated as graduates of an accredited program. Check CCAPP again before you apply if uOttawa interests you.

A degree is only the first step. U of T reminds applicants that a licence also needs national board exams and the requirements of the province where you plan to practise. The full rules for each school sit in its own guide, such as Waterloo pharmacy or U of T pharmacy.

U of T calls its PharmD a second-entry program. It doesn't look at high school grades or courses at all. Most applicants become eligible during their second year of university, and you can prepare at any recognized university. USask says plainly that you can't begin its program from high school. Memorial says its program isn't direct entry either.

The amount of university work differs. UBC wants at least 60 credits, including its listed prerequisites, finished by April 30. Alberta and USask also ask for 60 units or credit units. Manitoba asks for 48 credit hours, with at least one fall-winter session of 24 credit hours. Dalhousie and Memorial need only one full year of set courses. U of T asks for at least 8 full-course equivalents.

So the real Grade 12 decision is which first degree to start. Pick a program you'd be happy to finish if pharmacy doesn't work out. U of T says your major isn't the deciding factor, as long as your timetable leaves room for the required science and math. The health sciences and pre-med guide compares broader first-degree options.

Waterloo's Conditional Admission to Pharmacy, or CAP, pre-admits Grade 12 students and first-year CEGEP students. You need a 90.0% high school average as Waterloo Science calculates it, or 85.0% from CEGEP. CAP has 40 seats. Students who graduated, or who are already at university or college, can't apply.

CAP uses two OUAC applications. First you apply to Honours Science or Life Sciences, with Biology or Biomedical Sciences as your major. Then you send a separate CAP application. The CAP deadline is February 1, 2027, and supporting documents are due February 15. Your last Casper date is March 2. Decisions go out April 30, 2027. If admitted, you accept both offers.

CAP isn't a free pass. You must keep your eligibility for two years, including a satisfactory Casper result. If you do, Waterloo guarantees you a PharmD interview. CAP charges a $750 yearly program fee. CAP students who chose a co-op science stream are moved to the regular stream, because the prerequisites can't fit into two co-op years. Compare this with the Waterloo Science guide before you apply.

Waterloo's regular PharmD runs on a different calendar. Its 2026 to 2027 cycle is for January 2028 entry. The application closes January 6, 2027. You need a 75.0% cumulative average that counts every attempt at every course. Invited applicants take a live virtual panel interview from April 30 to May 2, 2027.

Laval's PharmD is a French-language program that admits students with a Quebec DEC. It has 240 places, and half go to college applicants. Places are reserved for Canadian citizens or permanent residents who are also Quebec residents. Laval adds that applicants who studied in Quebec fill the program, so a non-Quebec applicant is unlikely to get a place.

Laval weighs your academic record at 80% and a portfolio commenté at 20%. Its page lists 33.542 as the R-score of the last college applicant offered a place, with a minimum of 30. No cycle is attached to that figure, so treat it as history, not a Fall 2027 cut-off. College applicants apply by March 1, and university applicants by November 1. Neither date shows a year. The R-score guide explains how CEGEP results are scored.

Montréal's French-language PharmD is also CCAPP-accredited, with a status running from 2023 to 2029. It starts in August 2027 for this cycle and has 270 places: 240 at the Montréal campus and 30 at the Laurentides campus. You need a DEC in Sciences de la nature with set biology and chemistry competencies, a DEC in Sciences, lettres et arts, or the listed college prerequisites. Montréal ranks applicants on the academic record at 80% and Casper at 20%, and it may call some applicants to a French interview. Its 2026 college intake had 1,512 applications for 108 places, and the lowest admitted R-score was 35.106. If you're a Quebec student, compare both schools on the Quebec universities page and the Université de Montréal guide.

Every program wants university biology, chemistry and math, but the details shift. U of T asks for 1.0 FCE of biology, 1.5 FCEs of chemistry, 1.0 FCE of math including calculus, and 1.0 FCE of humanities or social science. UBC wants English, two terms of calculus, second-year cell biology, biochemistry and microbiology, two terms of second-year organic chemistry with labs, and statistics.

Waterloo lists cell biology, microbiology, two general chemistry courses, biochemistry, organic chemistry, three labs, calculus, statistics, English and two social science or humanities courses. Dalhousie wants at least 70% in each of its listed introductory chemistry, biology, calculus, statistics and English courses. Memorial wants eight set courses and two electives by May 1 of the year you'd start.

USask is changing its list. For the Fall 2027 intake, it adds 3 credit units of Indigenous learning. A separate set of changes applies from the 2027 application cycle for 2028 admission. Several schools also put an age limit on courses: U of T, UBC, USask and Manitoba don't normally count prerequisites older than about 10 years. Map your first two years against the list for every school you might apply to.

In high school, U of T recommends Grade 12 English, physics, biology and chemistry, plus Calculus and Vectors and Advanced Functions. USask lists no specific high school courses for its PharmD. These are preparation for university prerequisites, not entry rules for the PharmD itself.

Each school publishes a floor, and most say that meeting it doesn't guarantee a place. U of T asks for a 70% cumulative university average. UBC wants 70%, or a 2.80 GPA, on your most recent 60 credits, checked after December and again after April. Waterloo's floor is 75.0%, and it counts every course attempt.

USask's minimum is 70%. It weights your required courses at 60% and your full university record at 40%. It also says most people offered a place have averages well above 75%. Alberta's floor is a 3.0 recent GPA, but it says successful applicants typically have an admission score of 3.6 or higher. Manitoba wants an adjusted GPA of 3.0. Dalhousie wants a 2.7 CGPA and 70% in each prerequisite.

These figures use different scales and course sets. Don't convert one school's number into another's. Plan to clear each floor with room to spare, and keep a second career plan in view.

None of these PharmD programs asks for an audition. Most use Casper, an online situational judgment test, plus some form of interview. U of T requires Casper for the 2027 cycle, with valid tests from July 19, 2026 to January 21, 2027. It doesn't need Duet, and you can take Casper only once per cycle. Waterloo, USask and Manitoba also require Casper. Manitoba removes applicants whose score falls more than 1.5 standard deviations below the pool mean.

Interview formats vary. U of T's Online Individual Assessment on March 25, 2027 uses recorded video answers with no live interviewer, and it doesn't use personal statements or reference letters. Waterloo's PharmD interview is a live virtual panel. UBC uses pre-recorded interview questions and scenarios in March 2027. USask's video interview runs March 16 to 31, 2027 and counts for 25% of selection. Memorial uses asynchronous online interviews. Dalhousie's most recent interviews were virtual.

Alberta adds two written steps. You submit a letter of intent of up to 600 words with a web-based interview. You also upload a form signed by a practising pharmacist you've spoken with about the profession. Only USask mentions the PCAT, and it says it doesn't consider PCAT scores. Our Casper guide explains how the test works.

Where you live can matter as much as your grades. UBC accepts only Canadian citizens and permanent residents and sorts applicants into residency groups. You count as a B.C. resident if you hold a valid BC Services Card by the deadline. USask has 90 seats, and no more than 9 can go to people from outside Saskatchewan.

Manitoba admits 55 students a year through separate applicant pools, including one for Manitoba residents. Dalhousie serves the Maritime provinces and caps non-Maritime Canadians at 10% of the class. Alberta reserves 10 places for Indigenous applicants and 10 for applicants from rural Alberta who meet the minimums. Memorial normally reserves 34 seats for Newfoundland and Labrador residents, one for an Indigenous applicant from the province and five for applicants from elsewhere, including international applicants. Montréal is open only to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, not to study-permit holders, and up to seven places can go to French-speaking applicants from the Maritime provinces. If you're applying outside your home province, count these limits when you build your list.

Several schools haven't posted their 2027 cycle yet. Manitoba's requirements page is labelled 2026 to 2027 and shows a March 1, 2026 deadline for the Fall 2026 intake. Dalhousie's application page still shows February 1, 2026 and interviews on March 14, 2026. Memorial dates only 2026's February 1 deadline, though its timeline repeats February 1 with no year.

Alberta's March 1 deadline and Laval's March 1 and November 1 dates don't show a year either. Montréal has posted its Fall 2027 dates: March 1, 2027 for CEGEP applicants and November 1, 2026 for university applicants. Memorial says its current CCAPP accreditation term ends June 30, 2027, so check its renewal before you enrol. Check each school again in December 2026, before any February or March deadline.

Choose a first-year program that covers biology, chemistry and calculus with labs. Then add statistics, organic chemistry and biochemistry in second year if your target schools need them. Keep English and a humanities or social science course in your plan, because several lists include them.

Apply to more than one PharmD program if you can, and watch the earliest deadline. UBC closes on December 1, 2026, well before the others. Waterloo's regular PharmD closes January 6, 2027, and U of T's on January 15, 2027. Each school's guide has its full checklist: UBC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Dalhousie and Memorial.