Ontario Return of Service Eligible Communities List

The rule fits in one sentence of the program guidelines:

“IMG ROS eligible communities are any community in Ontario except the City of Ottawa and the Toronto area (defined as the City of Toronto and neighbouring municipalities of Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, and Pickering).”

The seven excluded municipalities

Excluded municipality	Grouping in the guidelines
City of Ottawa	Named separately
City of Toronto	Toronto area
Mississauga	Toronto area
Brampton	Toronto area
Vaughan	Toronto area
Markham	Toronto area
Pickering	Toronto area

The words “defined as” close the list. The guidelines give municipal names only, with no maps, postal codes or rule for an address near a boundary.

GTA and Golden Horseshoe communities not on the list

The guidelines do not name eligible communities. These municipalities are close to Toronto and do not appear on the excluded list, which is the basis for reading them as eligible:

Direction from Toronto	Not on the excluded list
West	Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Halton Hills, Hamilton
North	Richmond Hill, Aurora, Newmarket, King, Barrie
East	Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Clarington

This table is our reading of the exclusion rule, not a ministry list. Pickering is excluded while Ajax, the next municipality east, is not, so the boundary can sit between neighbouring towns. Confirm your exact address.

Eligibility is not the only step

Being in an eligible community does not start the clock by itself. The ministry page says:

“For service to commence, the participant must submit to the ministry a signed Practice Location Agreement (PLA), which is an agreement between the participating physician, ministry and the practice community, which specifies the location, and describes the terms and duration of the ROS.”

The agreement must be approved by the ministry and signed by an “Agreed Representative.” The sources do not say who qualifies as one, what the form looks like or how long approval takes, so build in time.

Other location rules worth knowing

Start date. Service must begin within 1 year of receiving your CPSO certificate of registration, or within 1 year of completing additional training or a fellowship. A late start without an approved deferral is treated as a breach.
Specialty. “Participants are required to find employment in their area of specialty completed through the postgraduate medical training in Ontario.”
Exceptions. The ministry page says exceptions “may be made only in exceptional circumstances,” case by case, with documentation and prior approval.
Patients who live in eligible communities. A separate rule counts some hours based on where patients live. We cover what it says, and what it leaves open, in Can you serve part of your return of service while working in Toronto?

Confirm how this applies to your agreement with the Ministry of Health.

Common questions

Does the ministry publish a list of eligible communities?

The guidelines we read name only the exclusions. A community is eligible because it is not on the excluded list, and a named practice location still needs a ministry-approved Practice Location Agreement.

Can I split return of service across more than one community?

The guidelines refer to service in "an eligible community or multiple eligible communities," so more than one is contemplated. Each location still has to go through the ministry.

Is Richmond Hill or Oakville eligible?

Neither is on the excluded list, and the rule covers any community except those listed. The guidelines do not name them individually, so confirm a specific address through your Practice Location Agreement.

Sources

The offer

Family physician, Bay and College, Toronto.

Compensation

Fee-for-service Family Health Group (FHG), applying for FHO+ next year.

Overhead: 0% for your first one and a half OHIP billing cycles. Then 20% of your OHIP billings (plus HST) at four or more clinical days a week or $30,000 a month in billings. Below that, 25%.

Estimated earnings: $32,000 to $43,000 a month in billings. $25,000 to $35,000 a month after overhead, from OHIP and private fees.

Attachment bonus: OHIP pays you $100 to $120 for each patient you attach who has no family doctor.

Profit share: Builds by about $3,200 a month, up to $38,000 a year, scaled to days worked. Paid by the clinic in June and December, no overhead. Can go toward your annual HOOPP pension contribution.

Paid leave: six weeks a year, building from your first day. A locum sees your patients while you’re away, so nothing piles up.

Professional allowance: up to $5,000 a year for CME, dues and licensing.

Gym membership: paid by the clinic.

Return of Service Repayment Calculator (Ontario 2026)

About this research

Button Health researched these rules directly from ministry, regulator and other primary sources, and links each one so you can read it yourself. Button Health is a family practice at Bay and College in Toronto that recruits family physicians, so we have an interest in this topic.

This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Rules change, and your agreement is what binds you.

Which communities count for Ontario return of service?