BACKGROUND Globalisation has led to significant changes in health care, yet medical education remains domestically focused. The majority of the world's children live in developing countries, and education related to global child health is important for paediatric residents. METHODS Chief residents and program directors from the 16 Canadian paediatric training programs were surveyed using a questionnaire regarding global child health training program content, electives, attitudes and perceptions towards global child health. RESULTS No programs had a formalised global health curriculum. All program directors and chief residents reported that programs offer global child health sessions, but 50% of the programs did not address six out of twelve of the content areas including topics such as refugee health and international adoption. All program directors agreed global child health understanding is important for paediatric trainees; 83% agreed more emphasis should be placed on this during post-graduate training. CONCLUSIONS A formalised global child health curriculum is lacking for Canadian paediatric residents: Program directors are willing to integrate global child health training modules into their post-graduate training programs.