York University School of Medicine will train more primary care providers to deliver connected health care, close to home.
To protect Ontario’s health-care workforce, the Ontario government is investing $55.8 million to support the planning and operations of York University’s new school of medicine. As the first medical school in Ontario that is focused on training family doctors, the York School of Medicine is expected to open in 2028 and will bolster Ontario’s pipeline of highly skilled primary care providers, helping fulfill Ontario’s commitment to ensure that everyone who wants to have a primary care provider can access one.
“Ontario-trained family doctors are the backbone of our health-care system, providing compassionate care for our loved ones from everyday checkups to life’s greatest challenges,” said Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security. “This investment will ensure that Ontario has a strong pipeline of family care providers to deliver excellent care for decades to come.”
This investment will fund initial planning for the York School of Medicine such as accreditation, curriculum development, faculty recruitment, establishing a medical library, training costs and operating costs for its undergraduate and postgraduate programs. When the school opens, it will have 80 undergraduate seats and 102 postgraduate seats, growing to 240 undergraduate seats and 293 postgraduate seats at full capacity.
“Our government is strengthening Ontario’s world-class physician workforce through the largest medical education expansion in over a decade,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Today’s $55.8 million investment in planning and operations at the new York School of Medicine brings us a step closer to adding hundreds of new family medicine seats, which will support the primary care needs of our province for generations to come.”
The Ontario government is leading the largest expansion of medical education in the province in over a decade. The expansion includes additional seats at all six medical schools across Ontario, as well as the establishment of two new medical schools, the Toronto Metropolitan University Medical School, which welcomed its inaugural cohort last fall, and York, which is slated to open in 2028. Today’s investment is on top of the initial $9 million invested by the Ontario government to begin the design and planning for York’s Medical School in 2024.
“We are deeply grateful for this $55.8 million investment from the Government of Ontario, which serves as a powerful vote of confidence in our vision for the York University School of Medicine,” said Lisa Philipps, Interim President and Vice-Chancellor of York University. “This will be a school where physicians are trained for the health system Ontarians need. Together with our hospital and other health care partners, we are building a community-based model of medical education that will expand access to care across northern Toronto, York Region, Simcoe County, Muskoka and beyond as we move toward accreditation and prepare to welcome our inaugural class in 2028.”
Ontario will continue to take bold and decisive action to protect Ontario’s health-care system and grow the province’s highly skilled health-care workforce and ensure people and their families have access to high-quality care, closer to home, for generations to come.
