Media Release
November 7, 2025.
As the voice of academic medicine in Canada, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) continually advocates for longitudinal government investments that will:
- Sustain world-class medical school and residency training to provide Canadians with reliable access to healthcare.
- Drive health research and innovation through support for early-career researchers and clinician-scientists.
- Address the climate crisis and its related health impacts in urgent, tangible ways.
Canada Strong is the first budget put forth by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal minority government and proposes $585 billion in spending on ambitious, nation-building projects such as: defense, infrastructure, housing, tariff response and supply chain development, critical minerals, the arctic, artificial intelligence, and culture. Health and social programs have largely been maintained.
AFMC commends the federal government for recognizing in this budget the need to invest in medical school infrastructure, to safeguard Canada’s granting agencies, and to invest in early-career research talent. AFMC encourages the government to demonstrate similar ambition in supporting healthcare delivery and addressing planetary health in the proposed budget.
Commitments to medical school infrastructure
AFMC applauds the government’s promise to invest $25 million in capital funding to Toronto Metropolitan University’s new School of Medicine in Brampton, Ontario. This marks the first direct federal contribution to a Canadian medical school’s expansion.
AFMC is also watching with interest the government’s commitment of $5 billion over three years to a Health Infrastructure Fund, which could help medical schools update and expand much-needed infrastructure for classroom and clinical training.
“Over the past 20 years, Canadian medicals schools have increased the number of undergraduate medical student seats by 3,573 (a 46% increase) and added 5,370 residency positions (a 66.9% increase),” said Dr. Connie LeBlanc, President and CEO of AFMC. “Medical schools are now at, or beyond, capacity – and Canadians need more doctors. Funding is urgently needed to support faculty, physician mentors and infrastructure.”
Foreign credential recognition
AFMC notes with interest the government’s commitment of $97 million over five years to establish a Foreign Credential Recognition Action Fund, to focus on health and construction workers.
Canadians need more doctors than the nation’s medical school system can currently produce. AFMC encourages the government to activate the proposed Fund in a way that will create capacity in family medicine and other areas of most need. AFMC member schools stand at the ready to help shape standards and guide best practices for foreign credential recognition.
Safeguarding Canada’s granting agencies and investing in early-career research talent
AFMC is relieved that the government aims to limit the impact of spending cuts on federal granting agencies – including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) – and to maintain 2024 commitments to grants, scholarships and fellowships. Stability in this area is essential to enable future growth.
AFMC celebrates the government’s intention to invest $133 million over three years to recruit international doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows to Canada – as well as the related, longer-term promises of $1 billion over 13 years to create new Canada Research Chairs to recruit international researchers, $120 million dollars over 12 years to attract assistant professors, and $400 million over seven years to acquire research infrastructure. These investments show that the federal government understands the positive impact next-generation researchers will have on the nation’s economy and overall wellbeing.
“These promises signal an important commitment to the research ecosystem, even as other federal departments face spending reductions,” said Dr. Nicole Redvers, Vice President Research at the AFMC. “We watch with interest to see how the government will balance the stability and needs of the current ecosystem, with the proposed influx of new talent.”
Planetary health
Canada Strong is a bold budget. As the process unfolds, AFMC encourages the federal government to demonstrate more ambitious climate health leadership.
All systems – and especially health systems – must urgently adapt to growing threats to climate and wellbeing. AFMC urges the government to leverage current commitments and explore additional opportunities to improve climate-readiness across all systems, including medical education and healthcare delivery.
AFMC and its partners are well-positioned to help inform this work, as conveners of the Roadmap for Planetary Health and Sustainable Health Systems for Canadian Medical Professionals – a tangible guide to help move the needle on planetary health.
Conclusion
National polling by Abacus Data shows that healthcare remains among the top five priorities for Canadians today, and AFMC is encouraged by the government’s commitments to medical schools and health research.
At the same time, AFMC urges the federal government to assess where, in the context of the $585 billion budget, more specific pathways might be identified to support provinces with direct healthcare delivery.
We look forward to collaborating with the federal government and partners to advance these critical priorities and realize their benefits for the health of all Canadians.