Moving to Toronto as a physician: where to live, how to buy, and when

Leaside, Lawrence Park and Davisville Village are the midtown neighbourhoods we look at first for Sunnybrook's Bayview Campus, at 2075 Bayview Avenue, because they sit on the bus routes to it. The TTC's 11 Bayview bus runs from Davisville station up Bayview Avenue to the hospital, and the 124 Sunnybrook runs from Lawrence station (Sunnybrook and TTC directions, checked October 16, 2026). Leaside is east of Bayview Avenue and reaches Sunnybrook Park in the north. Davisville Village faces it across Bayview, south of Eglinton, and Lawrence Park has Sunnybrook on its east edge (our neighbourhood research, October 2026). One caution: Line 5's Sunnybrook Park station is at Leslie Street, beside the park, not at the hospital.

Look near a Line 1 station on Yonge Street: Rosedale, Summerhill, Yonge & St Clair, Davisville Village, Chaplin Estates, North Toronto and Lawrence Park all have one inside or at their edge (our neighbourhood research, October 2026). Line 1 runs south from those stations to Union and back north on University Avenue to St Patrick and Queen's Park, the stops the TTC gives for Mount Sinai, Toronto General and SickKids, with no transfer (TTC hospitals page, checked October 16, 2026). For Women's College Hospital, the TTC gives College station and the 506 Carlton streetcar. Moore Park has no station; the 74 Mount Pleasant bus runs to St Clair station. One more thing for 2026-27: the City's watermain work on northbound University Avenue, Armoury Street to College Street, began September 21, 2026 and is expected to run to spring 2027 (Sinai Health).

• Mount Sinai Hospital (Sinai Health): 600 University Avenue
• Toronto General Hospital (UHN): 200 Elizabeth Street
• SickKids: 555 University Avenue, main entrance at 170 Elizabeth Street
• Women's College Hospital: 76 Grenville Street

Any midtown neighbourhood with a Line 1 station on Yonge Street works without a transfer: the TTC's route to St. Michael's, at 30 Bond Street, is Line 1 to Queen station, then east on Queen Street East to Victoria Street (TTC, checked October 16, 2026). Those are Rosedale, Summerhill, Yonge & St Clair, Davisville Village, Chaplin Estates, North Toronto and Lawrence Park (our neighbourhood research). From Moore Park, the bus connects at St Clair station. If you work at Sunnybrook's Holland Centre, note that it is downtown at 43 Wellesley Street East, not on the Bayview Campus (Sunnybrook).

For North York General, Lawrence Park and North Toronto are the closest of our midtown neighbourhoods by subway: the TTC's route to the hospital, at 4001 Leslie Street, is Line 4 to Leslie station and a walk south, and both neighbourhoods are on Line 1 north to Sheppard-Yonge, where Line 4 starts (TTC, checked October 16, 2026). For Toronto Western, at 399 Bathurst Street, the TTC gives Line 2 to Bathurst station and the 511 Bathurst streetcar south to Dundas, or Line 1 to St Patrick and the 505 Dundas streetcar west. Rosedale's Castle Frank station is on Line 2. We don't publish commute times, so try the trip at rush hour before you buy.

Midtown can work for Michael Garron or Hennick Humber Hospital, but neither is on Line 1, so the trip takes a transfer or a car. Michael Garron Hospital, at 825 Coxwell Avenue, is reached by Line 2 to Coxwell station and the 70 O'Connor bus north to Sammon Avenue (TTC, checked October 16, 2026), and Rosedale's Castle Frank station is on Line 2. Hennick Humber Hospital, at 1235 Wilson Avenue near Keele Street, is Humber River Health's Wilson Avenue site, renamed on April 10, 2026 (Humber River Health). If you'll drive there, Allen Road is the nearest expressway to Chaplin Estates and Yonge & St Clair (our neighbourhood research). If your partner works downtown, midtown can still be the fair middle.

The Crosstown, now Line 5 Eglinton, added an east-west rail line across midtown when introductory service began on February 8, 2026, with midtown stations at Chaplin, Avenue, Eglinton, Mount Pleasant, Leaside and Laird (TTC, February 3, 2026). It meets Line 1 at Eglinton station, so a home near any of those stops connects to the Yonge Street trains for the downtown hospitals. It does not reach Sunnybrook's Bayview Campus: Line 5's Sunnybrook Park stop is at Leslie Street, and the bus up Bayview Avenue is still the link. The TTC had not announced full service as of its October 5, 2026 release.

In the twelve months to October 15, 2026, freehold homes in Leaside sold for an average of $2,262,766, down 6.7% on the year before, and in Lawrence Park for an average of $4,247,474, down 4.2% (TRREB MLS data within The Seymour Team's neighbourhood boundaries, computed October 16, 2026). In Davisville Village, across Bayview Avenue from Leaside, the average was $1,764,124, up 4.2%. Over the same twelve months, homes sold in an average of 18 days in Leaside, 33 in Lawrence Park and 14 in Davisville Village. By type, Leaside's detached homes averaged $2,501,382 (down 5.2%) and Davisville Village's semi-detached homes $1,459,695 (up 0.8%), same period and source.

In the twelve months to October 15, 2026, freehold homes sold for an average of $4,335,726 in Rosedale (down 24.4% on the year before), $3,251,707 in Moore Park (down 1.8%), $2,811,998 in Summerhill (down 3.9%) and $2,672,266 in Chaplin Estates (up 8.5%) (TRREB MLS data within The Seymour Team's neighbourhood boundaries, computed October 16, 2026). Over the same twelve months, Rosedale homes took an average of 40 days to sell and Moore Park homes 16. Each average rests on 32 to 54 sales, so a few large sales move it; ask us for the street-by-street picture.

Yes: Scotiabank's Healthcare+ Physician Banking Program says that for residents, fellows and new-to-practice physicians, the mortgage amount you qualify for is based on estimated projected income, not only your pay today (Scotiabank, checked October 16, 2026). Scotiabank adds that the projected figure is an industry average and can change. Other banks have physician offers too; the next answer names them. The federal down payment rules apply to residents like everyone else (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, page dated October 15, 2025). We ask buyers to have a pre-approval in hand before viewings, and we don't quote rates.

Scotiabank is the only one of the big banks whose own Canadian pages, checked October 16, 2026, say it qualifies residents, fellows and new physicians for a mortgage on projected income, through its Healthcare+ Physician Banking Program with MD Financial Management. National Bank's "Offer for doctors" lists resident physicians among those eligible and names its All-In-One home equity line of credit and mortgage offers, subject to credit approval. RBC's "RBC Plan for Pre-practicing Professionals" is for residents, but its current page does not mention mortgages, and TD's "Banking for Healthcare Professionals" covers practice and commercial property financing. We found no Canadian physician mortgage page on BMO's or CIBC's sites. Which offer fits depends on your stage and income, so compare them with each bank or a mortgage broker.

At least 20% on any home priced at $1.5 million or more, and the average freehold home in both neighbourhoods sold above that in the twelve months to October 15, 2026 (TRREB MLS data within The Seymour Team's neighbourhood boundaries, computed October 16, 2026). On Leaside's average detached price of $2,501,382, 20% is about $500,000. On Davisville Village's average semi-detached price of $1,459,695, the minimum is about $121,000: 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the rest (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, page dated October 15, 2025). The $1.5 million cap on insured mortgages took effect on December 15, 2024, so the 20% line now starts at $1.5 million, not $1 million (Department of Finance Canada). A lender may ask a self-employed borrower for more (FCAC).

Each lender sets its own rules, but billing income is not a salary: OHIP pays physicians monthly, itemized on a Remittance Advice, and fee-for-service totals change from month to month (Ontario Ministry of Health, OHIP INFOBulletins, 2026). The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada notes that a lender may ask a self-employed borrower for a larger down payment, or for mortgage insurance even at 20% down (FCAC, page dated October 15, 2025). How a lender averages billing income, and what papers it wants, differ from lender to lender, so ask before you shop. If you're new to practice, ask whether the lender will qualify you on projected income instead.

Ontario family doctors are paid through the Ministry of Health's primary care models, either mainly fee-for-service or mainly capitation, and most specialists bill fee-for-service under OHIP's Schedule of Benefits. The Comprehensive Care Model and Family Health Groups pay mainly fee-for-service; Family Health Networks and Family Health Organizations pay mainly by capitation, a set amount per enrolled patient, each with bonuses and premiums (Ontario Ministry of Health, updated February 4, 2026). The specialist picture comes from the Auditor General of Ontario's 2016 annual report on physician billing. OHIP itemizes each month's payments on a Remittance Advice (Ontario Ministry of Health).

Ontario law limits a medical professional corporation to the practice of medicine and activities related to it, so whether yours can hold your home is a question your accountant and lawyer decide. Under the Business Corporations Act, a professional corporation's articles must say it "may not carry on a business other than the practice of the profession", though it may carry on related activities, "including the investment of surplus funds earned by the corporation" (s. 3.2 (2), consolidation from October 1, 2025). How a home, or money taken out of the corporation for a down payment, is taxed is a separate question under federal tax rules. The CPSO issues and renews the corporation's certificate of authorization (CPSO). We work alongside your accountant and lawyer; we don't give tax advice.

Residency in Ontario starts on July 1, and the time to start looking is Match Day, which CaRMS has set for March 2, 2027 at noon Eastern (CaRMS R-1 timeline, updated May 13, 2026). That leaves just under four months, time to buy as well as rent. The order we suggest: a short list of neighbourhoods by hospital, a mortgage pre-approval, then viewings in March and April. The second-iteration Match Day is April 20, 2027, about ten weeks before July 1. In 2026, Match Day was March 3 and matched residents began on July 1, 2026 (CaRMS, April 21, 2026). CaRMS says its dates may change.

At the University of Toronto, fellowships follow the academic year that starts on July 1: the postgraduate medical education office runs its year from July 1 to June 30, and Block 1 of 2027-28 starts on Thursday, July 1, 2027 (U of T PGME common rotation dates, checked October 16, 2026). Fellows starting on July 1 register through PGME's POWER system. If your program gives you another start date, confirm it before you set a closing date.

Spring is the busiest time to buy in midtown, so it suits a July 1 start if you're ready to compete: April, May and June are the busiest months for sales in Leaside and Davisville Village, and December and January the quietest (TRREB MLS data, Leaside 2022 to October 15, 2026, Davisville Village 2021 to October 15, 2026, computed October 16, 2026). A March match leaves time to get pre-approved and see homes in April and May. If you can, plan a closing a few weeks before July 1, so the move doesn't collide with orientation.

If you hold a work permit with at least 183 days left on it, the federal rules let you buy one home: that exception to the ban on non-Canadian buyers has applied since March 27, 2023 (CMHC, 2023 amendments to the regulations). The ban doesn't apply to Canadian citizens or permanent residents (Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, Justice Laws, current to September 30, 2026). It runs to January 1, 2027, after a two-year extension (Department of Finance Canada, February 4, 2024). Your status decides your case, so your real estate lawyer confirms you qualify before you sign an offer.

No: Ontario's first-time buyer refund, up to $4,000, is only for buyers who have never owned a home anywhere in the world (Ontario Ministry of Finance, updated February 10, 2026). Toronto's municipal rebate, up to $4,475, has similar conditions (City of Toronto, checked October 16, 2026). For the Ontario refund you must also be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, or become one within 18 months, live in the home within nine months, and apply within 18 months. Your real estate lawyer confirms whether you qualify.

Apply to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) under its Automatic Recognition route: since January 1, 2026, a physician with a current, full licence to practise independently in another Canadian province or territory can have it recognized in Ontario, and the CPSO says those applications are "assessed within two business days" (CPSO, checked October 16, 2026). You complete a self-screening questionnaire and confirm good character, good standing where you're licensed, and liability protection that extends to Ontario. If you don't qualify, the CPSO has a full application under the labour mobility rules, with standard credentialing and fees. You can look at homes while it's under way.

Yes: the CPSO says board-certified U.S. physicians are eligible to practise independently in Ontario "without additional certification or examination" (CPSO page for U.S.-trained physicians, checked October 16, 2026). Board-eligible physicians who finished an ACGME-accredited residency in the past five years can practise under supervision for up to three years while they complete certification. A separate route lets U.S. family doctors get CFPC certification without an exam. Your right to work in Canada is a separate immigration question.

The CPSO names five routes for physicians trained outside Canada and the U.S.: an academic appointment as a professor at an Ontario medical school, a pathway for exam-eligible candidates, pathways for family doctors without the CFPC exam, and the Royal College's SEAP and Practice Eligibility Route (PER) (CPSO, checked October 16, 2026). Family physicians from Australia, Ireland, the U.K. and the U.S. can get CFPC certification without an exam (CPSO Dialogue, October 2025). Practice Ready Ontario is another route for internationally trained family physicians, but it includes a three-year return of service in a high-needs rural Ontario community (Touchstone Institute), so it doesn't lead to a Toronto practice at first.

About three months on average, the CPSO said in October 2025, and once your application is complete a certificate of registration is typically issued within five business days (CPSO Dialogue, figures to September 29, 2025). Missing documents can push the certificate, and the start of training, past July 1 (CaRMS Ontario eligibility page). Build the CPSO's timing into your closing date, and ask your lender what proof of your new position it needs. From April 2023 to September 29, 2025, the CPSO licensed 3,619 physicians with a medical degree from outside Canada and the U.S., and 1,252 U.S.-trained physicians (CPSO Dialogue, October 2025).

Six of the nine big Toronto hospital organisations have a page of their own for physician openings, and the rest post them through their department chiefs or their general careers page. The links below were checked on October 16, 2026; hospitals move these pages, so if one has changed, the organisation's careers page is the place to start. Sunnybrook says on its own page that hiring runs through the chief of each department, which is true of most academic hospitals: the posting is often the last step, not the first.

• Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre: Physician Opportunities (Bayview campus, the Holland Centre and St. John's Rehab)
• University Health Network: Careers (Toronto General, Toronto Western, Princess Margaret and Toronto Rehab; no separate physician page)
• Sinai Health: Careers (Mount Sinai Hospital and Hennick Bridgepoint; no separate physician page)
• SickKids: Careers (its job system has a Physicians and Scientists category)
• Women's College Hospital: Careers (no separate physician page)
• Unity Health Toronto: Medical Affairs, physician recruitment (St. Michael's, St. Joseph's and Providence)
• North York General Hospital: Physician and Midwives Leadership Opportunities (other roles on its general careers page)
• Michael Garron Hospital: physician postings (listed under "Other Career Opportunities")
• Humber River Health: Careers (Hennick Humber Hospital; its job search has a Physicians category)

Province-wide, three more places are worth a look: the CPSO's registration pages for licensing before anything else, Practice Ontario, Ontario Health's physician recruitment and transition-to-practice program (the former HealthForceOntario), and the Ontario Medical Association's classifieds, where clinics and hospitals advertise positions, several in Toronto at any time.