AFMC is the academic partnership of Canada’s faculties of medicine. Through our collective leadership and advocacy, we will achieve excellence in education, research and care for the health of all Canadians.
Founded in 1943, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) represents Canada’s 18 faculties of medicine and is the voice of academic medicine in Canada. A registered charity, AFMC supports the work of its member faculties to provide world class medical education, research and clinical care while at the same time advancing social accountability priorities. AFMC strives to keep these issues high on the federal government’s agenda and ensure that Canada’s faculties of medicine serve as important resources to decision-makers in this country.
Through our collective leadership and advocacy, we achieve excellence in education, research, and social accountability for the health of all Canadians.
We collaboratively lead and deliver a highly responsive system of medical education and research aligned with the health needs of all Canadians driven by the highest standards of quality, excellence, and social accountability.
AFMC consulted with the academic medicine community, our committees, networks and working groups to build our 2024-2027 strategic plan. We look forward to advancing this new strategic plan and engaging our entire academic medicine community.
Our values guide and define how we approach our work.
As the voice of academic medicine in Canada, we, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, stand against racial discrimination as well as all other forms of discrimination. The AFMC is committed to working with health partners to ensure that our environments are diverse, inclusive, culturally safe and foster equity. We will implement institutional change and lead in addressing systemic racism through education and curricular innovation, research and advocacy for equity, diversity and inclusiveness.
The legacy of AFMC is built on the commitment of our faculties of medicine to serving the needs of Canadians, to leading innovation in medical education and health research.
AFMC is governed by the Board of Directors, comprised of the Deans of the 18 Faculties of Medicine and up to 4 public members.
Vice-Provost (Health Sciences) and Distinguished Professor, Dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba
Chair of the AFMC Board of Directors
Dean, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
AFMC Board Chair Elect
Dean, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval
Dean, Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke
Dean, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal
Vice-Principal (Health Affairs) and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University
Dean and Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa
Dean, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University
Dean & Vice-President, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University
Dean, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
Interim Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University
Dean, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan
Dean, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta
Dean of Medicine, Dalhousie University
Professor, Department of Medicine, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Vice-President, Health, University of British Columbia
Dean of the School of Medicine and Vice-President, Medical Affairs
Toronto Metropolitan University
Anne McFarlane is a retired civil servant and former Vice-President with the Canadian Institute for Health Information. She sits on the Boards of the Vancouver Island Health Authority and Canadian Blood Services. Anne has previously been a Board Member of Providence Healthcare in Vancouver and the Michael Smith Foundation.
Brent Norton is an accomplished business leader with experience across several successful enterprises which have achieved significant product sales, returns for investors and positively impacted hundreds of thousands of lives. He has been an active member of several boards of directors and an active volunteer.
Kaylynn Purdy completed her medical education at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine is currently an adult neurology resident at the University of Alberta and health policy student at Stanford University. She is formerly a member of the CFMS Board, CaRMS Board, and Professional Association of Residents of Alberta Board.
Foluke Laosebikan is a Solicitor from Melfort, Saskatchewan, where she founded her own legal practice, FLK Law Firm. She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1995 and to the Saskatchewan Bar in 2011. Originally from Nigeria, she immigrated to Canada in 2004. Since then, she has been a dedicated volunteer, sitting on the board of directors of Collaborative Professionals of Saskatchewan for several years and on the Board of the Law Society of Saskatchewan where she has served as a Bencher since 2017 and has participated in and chaired various committees.
President and CEO
Dr. Constance Leblanc is President and CEO of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) and is instrumental in shaping and delivering on AFMC’s key priorities.
Originally from New Brunswick, Connie completed undergraduate studies at the Université de Moncton and medical education at Université Laval in Québec City. She has practiced tertiary care Emergency Medicine in Nova Scotia for over three decades. A lifelong learner, Connie holds a Master of Arts in Medical Education, an Executive Master’s in Business Administration and Technology, and most recently became a Canadian Certified Inclusion ProfessionalÔ. Dr. LeBlanc served in a decanal role for two terms as Associate Dean for Continuing Professional Development at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her scholarship focuses on Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity & Accessibility (EDIA) and medical education with a strong academic track record in these areas. Connie is excited to collaborate with the committee of Deans and tackle important issues for academic medicine in Canada.
Vice-President, Education
Dr. Karwowska plays a leadership role in AFMC activities that promote excellence in the continuum of medical education in Canada. She is a strong advocate for learners, teachers and educators. She received her medical degree from McGill University. Dr. Karwowska completed her training in Pediatrics and a fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at the University of Calgary. Her clinical practice is in Child Maltreatment Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and she is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa
Vice-President, Research
As part of the AFMC leadership team, Dr. Redvers will lead the implementation of the organization’s strategic priorities related to health research and innovation, including supporting AFMC Committees and Networks in this area.
Dr. Redvers is an advisory member to the World Health Organization (WHO) Technical Advisory Group on embedding ethics in health and climate change and is a member of the Government of Canada’s Strategic Review Committee for the Biomedical Research Fund and Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund.
She is a member of the Denı́nu Kų́ę́ First Nation (Northwest Territories) and is an Associate Professor, Western Research Chair, and Director of Indigenous Planetary Health at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University.
Chief Operating Officer and Lead, Social Accountability
Melissa oversees overall operations for the Association and is the senior management team support for the new AFMC Standing Committee on Social Accountability and its connected committees and networks. For more than five years, Ms. Shahin has led the financial, human resources, communications, information technology, facilities, and strategic initiatives / project management dossiers of AFMC. Ms. Shahin is forward-thinking with a passion for strategic planning and process improvement. She holds an Honours degree in Political Science with a focus on Canadian constitutional law and Indigenous studies.
Our committees report into the Board of Directors and support them in fulfilling its defined responsibilities.
The AFMC Networks facilitate national collaboration between all Faculties of Medicine and serve in an advisory role to share knowledge and provide topic specific support across Faculties.
Chair: Kannin Osei-Tutu, University of Calgary
Vice Chair: Mireille Norris, University of Toronto
Chair: Vernon Curran, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Chair: Sukhveer Bains, Western University
Chair: Joanne Hamilton, University of Manitoba
Chair: Tom Drysdale, Western University
Chair: Darlene Kitty, University of Ottawa
Co-Chair: Sonja Wicklum, University of Calgary
Co-Chair: Husein Moloo, University of Ottawa
Chair: Ravi Sidhu, University of British Columbia
Vice-Chair: Parveen Wasi, McMaster University
Chair: Aviva Goldberg, University of Manitoba
Chair: Claude Labrie, Université Laval
Vice-Chair: Cheryl Holmes, University of British Columbia
Vice-Deans: Marek Radomski, University of Saskatchewan
Co-Chair: Melanie Jaegar, Queen’s University
Co-Chair: Melanie Lewis, University of Alberta
Co-Chair: Anna Karwowska, AFMC
Co-Chair: Rodrigo Cavalcanti, University of Toronto
Co-Chair: Geneviève Lemay, University of Ottawa
Co-Chair: Shahin Shirzad, University of British Columbia
Chair: Norah Duggan, Memorial University
Chair: Zia Bismilla, University of Toronto
Chair: Sharon Hatcher, Université de Sherbrooke
Vice Chair: Aaron Johnston, University of Calgary
Chair: John Lee, McMaster University
Chair: Andrea Lum, University of Toronto
Chair: Joanne Rodgers, University of Alberta
Chair: Danielle Barbeau-Rodrigue, Northern Ontario School of Medicine
Chair: Tasha Ayinde, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Chair: Sean O’Neill, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Chair: Jason Bremner, Dalhousie University
Co-Chair: Gayle Adams-Carpino, Northern Ontario School of Medicine
Co-Chair: Moni Fricke, University of Manitoba
Chair: Jennifer McKinnel, McMaster University
Co-Chair: Amanda Condon, University of Manitoba
Co-Chair: Pamela Bere, Western University
Chair: Anne McLeod, University of Toronto
Co-Chair: Greg Power, University of Saskatchewan
Co-Chair: Anne Weeden, Dalhousie University
Chair: Roger Wong, University of British Columbia
Co-Chair: Erin Cameron, Northern Ontario School of Medicine
Co-Chair: Claire Kendall, University of Ottawa
The AFMC Committees and Networks provide guidance in all facets of academic medicine. They bring together representatives from across all faculties of medicine and provide national guidance on a wide range of topics.
University of Calgary • University of Toronto • Université de Sherbrooke • Queen’s University • University of Ottawa • University of Manitoba • Université de Laval • Memorial University of Newfoundland • University of Alberta • University of Saskatchewan • Université de Montréal • NOSM University • McMaster University • McGill University • University of British Columbia • Dalhousie University • Western University
150 Elgin Street — 10th Floor
Ottawa, ON K2P 1L4
Unceded Traditional Algonquin Territory
Tel: 613-730-0687
Fax: 613-730-1196
We look forward to hearing from you.
The AFMC newsletter is published five times per year and brings you all relevant news and information regarding our initiatives and those of our faculties.
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