New Brunswick doctor named Canadian Medical Association president

Dr. Margot Burnell, who became the new president of the Canadian Medical Association on May 31, 2025, is pictured. (Source: Canadian Medical Association)

A New Brunswick doctor has been named the new president of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA).

Dr. Margot Burnell officially took on the role Saturday during the CMA’s annual general meeting. The CMA said Burnell has been an oncologist for more than 30 years at the Saint John Regional Hospital.

During her address to colleagues Saturday, the CMA said Burnell “emphasized her commitment to improve access to care” as a core issue of her year-long mandate.

“Canadians deserve a health system that is there for them when they need it,” said Burnell in a news release. “I strongly believe that ideas and lived experience from patients, physicians and others at the front lines are critical to building a future for health care that Canadians can take pride in.”

Burnell said she also intends to advance Indigenous reconciliation in health care, strengthen Canada’s health workforce, reduce physicians’ paperwork and improve physician well-being.

The president of the CMA is elected by members from a different province or territory each year. Burnell takes over from Dr. Joss Reimer of Winnipeg.

The president-elect is now Dr. Bolu Ogunyemi who practices medicine in Newfoundland and Labrador.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.