05/03/2026
Medical school expansion aims to keep doctors in Northern Ontario
FedNor funding could double the number of grads within four years
Author of the article:Andrew Autio
Published May 01, 2026 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read
The answer to solving Northern Ontario's shortage of family doctors could be addressed through localized training centres, according to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, as it looks to expand and capitalize on federal dollars. File photo jpg, KC, apsmc
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The answer to solving Northern Ontario’s shortage of family doctors could be addressed through localized training centres, according to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, as it looks to expand and capitalize on federal dollars.
Last month, the Government of Canada announced almost $2 million to allow NOSM to establish and expand training facilities in 87 municipalities and Indigenous communities across Northern Ontario.
This includes not only the large hospitals in Sudbury, Timmins, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, and North Bay, but also dozens of community clinics and First Nations health centres.
The goal is to increase NOSM’s overall enrollment, graduate more doctors, and retain those graduates in the region to address the healthcare needs of the north.
The feds say that once fully established, the new training spaces will be well-equipped to deliver the highest standard of education expected from modern medical schools. As a result of the expansion, NOSM University’s Doctor of Medicine program is expected to increase from 425 to 852 learners within the next four years.
“By helping NOSM University establish training facilities across the region, we are focused on what we can control and on building resilient communities,” said Patty Hajdu, the federal minister of jobs and families, who is also the minister responsible for FedNor, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario.
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“To benefit generations, this project will help the university double its enrollment so they can graduate more doctors that will have established roots here at home,” she said in a statement.
The FedNor funding is provided through the Northern Ontario Development Program and will allow NOSM University teaching sites across the north to retrofit learner spaces and purchase specialized equipment to support in-community training. This includes modernizing the facilities with enhanced video conferencing communications technology capabilities.
Dr. Owen Prowse, NOSM’s vice president of clinical partnerships and hospital relations, said school officials are excited by the announcement.
“The provincial government had notified us, a number of years ago, that we were eligible to increase our class size and our post-graduate program,” he said.
Prowse, a respected urologist, has been with NOSM since before it even officially opened in September 2005 with its initial 56 students. At that time, the school did not have any post-graduate learners.
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In 2021, NOSM became a standalone university, with collaborative relationships with both Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and Laurentian University in Sudbury.
“We’ve been able to expand our class size. Now we’re up to 88 learners, and I think next year, we’re hoping for 92, with the ultimate goal of getting up to 108 learners, which would be amazing.”
Prowse said that over the past 20 years, NOSM has been developing its post-graduate programs, the biggest of which is family medicine.
“Which is very important for Northern Ontario, and we’ll be increasing that to 123 when all is said and done.”
The potential of 108 students going through medical school each year, with 123 each year doing post-graduate training, sounds promising.
“That could be anywhere from two years in family medicine, all the way through to five years for surgical rotations, or obstetrics, or other specialties,” he said.
Prowse explained that NOSM isn’t a traditional medical school, with “a distributed model of education,” using technology to deliver instruction to students any time, and anywhere.
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“We actually have our learners training in over 90 locations across Northern Ontario, in a huge geographic area. During their education, especially in third year, they spend eight months in a community working with local clinicians, training in community hospitals, clinics, or health centres, First Nations medical centres, doctors offices,” he said.
“So we don’t just have one building where they come in and train, where we can have resources available for them, and computers, and simulations, all of those things.”
Prowse said the FedNor grant will provide them with much-needed funds to support learners where they are training. Basic amenities such as desks and computers will be included in the expansion.
“We have a tremendous amount of videoconferencing and remote learning that we do, as part of our education. We’ve been doing that for years.”
NOSM has approximately 2,000 clinical faculty across the north.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us in Northern Ontario to be able to increase the number of physicians. The rationale being that if we train them here, they’re more likely to stay here and work, and we’ve demonstrated success over the years with that model.”
