York wants a medical school

And it probably deserves one. The new president is lobbying for a medical school, and he should.

Canada doesn’t produce enough doctors, there’s been talk about adding another medical school, greater Toronto is Canada’s biggest city, the GTA is Canada’s fastest growing city (in raw population growth, if not percentage growth), and the 905 region around Toronto (which York borders) is where the bulk of that growth is taking place. If you are going to add a medical school in Ontario, York is the most logical place to put it. Ottawa region, which is less than one-fifth the size of Toronto, already has a medical school. McMaster in Hamilton has a medical school. Queen’s in Kingston has a medical school. There’s now a joint Laurentian-Lakehead northern Ontario medical school. Western in London has a medical school.Western’s Schulich School of Medicine has also expanded to offer a full medical education program at the University of Windsor.

(For enrollment stats for every Canadian medical school, click here.))

If there’s going to be a new medical school in Ontario, the only logical place to put it is in the GTA, or close to it. Ryerson is right downtown, next to U of T. The only other research-intensive universities in the province that are anywhere near Toronto, and don’t already have a medical school, are Waterloo and Guelph. It would seem to me that any expansion of the number of doctors trained in the province will come down to a choice between expanding intake at all medical schools, in particular U of T, or adding a new medical school, at York.

Start your lobbying.