Podiatry in Canada is really dependant on the province you inted to practice in. As medicine in Canada becomes more and more privatized, things are looking better and better for Podiatrists as a whole.
You can not get a license to practice Podiatry in Ontario. The Chiropodists and Podiatrists there made a concerted effort to lock out anyone new for reasons I'm going to leave to your imagination. The rest of the country is pretty open. Podiatrists in BC and Alberta enjoy a little more openness than in other parts of the country, since there is a limited budget for the provincial health care system in those provinces, but it gives them exposure. There is surgery going on in those provinces, but not so much in the hospitals, since hospitals are federally/provincially funded and Podiatry isn't reimbursed within the hospital. Forefoot surgery is generally done in the office, so you need to provide the equipment and resources which you indirectly include in a cash pay surgical fee.
In Quebec, things are a little complicated. I understand that the school there is only 3 years and they have an agreement with the New York School for clinical experience. The language barrier is obvious. In Quebec, even though you are a doctor, you have to have a special license to shoot radiographs, read them and get paid for doing that. You also can not prescribe antibiotics or narcotics as of yet. This makes doing surgery on patients a rather tricky proposition.
Most Podiatrist I know in Canada make their money on Orthotics. Some do do simple forefoot surgery, but often times patients would rather go to an Orthopedist since these procedures are covered under the national health care system if an Orthopod is doing it. Just as a point of reference, Canadian Orthopods are still doing Mitchell Osteotomies for Bunion repairs. If you don't know why this is a major issue, do some research and you'll quickly realize how outdated they are in the realm of foot and ankle surgery.
Immigration is a big issue for Canadian students looking for advanced training. When you go to school you are on a Student Visa, which, if the laws haven't changed, you can extend for one year during your residency. Its called "Optional Practical Training", and is only good for one year. This means that you also have to apply for an H1-B1 visa, which you need the help of an attorney for, but only IF you intend on staying in the USA after you're done. If you know you will be returning to Canada FOR SURE, then you can consider a J-1 visa, but I never recommend this, as it may limit your potential as you complete your residency. A J-1 requires that you return to Canada once training is complete for the same amount of time you had the visa, UNLESS you can find an area in the States to practice in that is considered Underprivilged or Underserved. I am not an attorney so if you have questions about this please consult a good Immigration Attorney. Most residencies are open to foreign students, unless they are VA residencies or specifically state that they only take US residents. I can tell you that some residencies have gotten burned when accepting a resident and the resident not doing their due diligence in securing their immigration status and the resident having to leave part way throught their training. This is disastrous for residency programs, but most are still willing to take the chance I would assume.
