Recruiting an international medical graduate (IMG) starts with sponsoring a position.

Sponsorship helps support community-based health care and is an important responsibility. The sponsorship process allows potential sponsors to know what we need from them. It also helps us understand what the applicant physician is being sponsored for and what kind of assessment they will need.

Who may become a sponsor?

Examples of who may apply to sponsor a physician position include:

Individuals
Nonprofit or not-for-profit organizations
For-profit corporations
Municipalities, counties or other legally recognized entities under the Municipal Government Act
Federal or other authorities, such as a First Nation, Métis Nation of Alberta, or a Métis Settlement

CPSA reviews all applications to make sure sponsors can meet their responsibilities to their community and to the physician who will fill the sponsored position.

Apply to become a sponsor

CPSA has the same basic expectations of all applicants.

CPSA expects all sponsors to make the following commitments:

Standard sponsor expectations

Do you meet the standard sponsor expectations?

Follow these steps to apply to be a sponsor.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, you will need to apply to CPSA with details about the sponsored position, the patient population served by the position and more. CPSA reviews all applications to make sure sponsors meet their responsibilities to their community and to the physician who will fill the sponsored position.

Complete application

Prospective sponsor completes the sponsor application form.

Initial review

CPSA will confirm all necessary information is included.

Fee payment

Once an application is deemed complete, CPSA will reach out for non-refundable sponsor application fee of $2,000 (+GST).

Review & decision

Following committee review and decision, prospective sponsor will receive approval/denial decision.

Contract & clinic registration

Approved sponsor will sign a sponsorship contract with CPSA. Sponsor must register clinic with CPSA within 30 days.

Applicant physician recruitment

Sponsor will post their approved position(s) on DoctorJobsAlberta.com.

Applicant physician sponsorship

To sponsor applicant physician, Sponsor will submit the Physician Sponsorship form to CPSA.

Review all the steps to complete once you've identified a successful applicant physician here

Additional positions

Sponsor can request additional positions once they have filled the initial positions, the applicant physicians in those positions have successfully completed their Practice Readiness Assessments (PRAs) and the sponsor has paid all assessment fees.

Ready to apply?

Fill out and submit sponsor application form >

Questions?

If you have any questions before completing your application, please use the contact form below to reach out to our Registration Assessments team.

Sponsorship FAQs

All FAQs

What is sponsorship?

Sponsorship is a step towards bringing internationally trained physicians into Alberta. Sponsors are responsible for recruiting physicians, which includes selecting the successful candidate to undergo CPSA’s assessment process.

How is CPSA expanding the sponsorship model?

Since 2015, Alberta Health Services (AHS) was the sole sponsor for internationally trained physicians going through CPSA’s assessment process. While publicly sponsored positions with AHS, Covenant Health and Recovery Alberta will continue to serve communities with the greatest need, CPSA now welcomes individuals, organizations, corporations, and others with an interest to apply to be a sponsor for a physician position in their desired community.

How will this change benefit patients in Alberta?

Like all provinces and territories across Canada, Alberta is facing a physician shortage. CPSA is expanding our sponsorship model to support improved access to community-based health care for patients in Alberta.

Who can become a sponsor?

Individuals, organizations, corporations, and others with interest may apply to be a sponsor for a physician position in their desired community. CPSA reviews all applications to make sure sponsors can meet their responsibilities to their community and to the physician who will fill the sponsored position.

After applying to CPSA, how long does it take to become a sponsor?

Sponsorship application process:

Complete the sponsor application form on cpsa.ca.
CPSA reviews applications for completeness and requests missing information if needed.
Once complete, CPSA requests payment of the sponsorship fee.

The sponsorship committee reviews the application and provides a decision within 4 weeks

Can approved sponsors sponsor more than one position?

Yes, approved sponsors can sponsor multiple physician positions. Approved sponsors must submit separate sponsor applications for each clinic location but can request multiple physician positions with each application.

Can sponsored physicians practise from different clinic locations?

Yes. Sponsored physicians may work at multiple clinics if all clinics are tied to the same sponsor. One clinic must be designated as the primary location. Each clinic must apply and be approved before the physician can practise there, and all locations must be listed in both the sponsor application form and Physician Sponsorship form.

Do approved sponsors need to pay the sponsor application fee for each sponsor application form submitted?

Approved sponsors will only need to pay the sponsor application fee for the first sponsor application form.

Can an approved sponsor have sponsored physicians lined up before a new clinic is opened?

No, sponsorship is only permitted to fill physician positions in clinics which are currently in operation.

Questions about sponsorship?

Use this form to contact our Registration Assessments team. We’d love to hear from you!

Phone
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Name*
First Last
CPSA Registration #
Providing your CPSA registration # will help us resolve your inquiry more efficiently.
Email*
Enter Email Confirm Email
Your Message*