New medical campus in Cape Breton, N.S. welcomes first cohort

A new medical campus in Cape Breton, N.S. welcomed its first cohort Friday.

A new Cape Breton Medical Campus (CBMC) welcomed its first cohort of future doctors on Friday.

The inaugural class has 30 Nova Scotian students who have committed to practicing family medicine in rural areas of the province for five years after they graduate.

“This is a proud day for Cape Breton and for all of Nova Scotia. The opening of a second medical school campus is transformational for healthcare in our province,” said Premier Tim Houston. “These students are answering the call to serve their communities and by training more doctors right here at home, we are investing in better access to care for families for generations to come.”

CBMC is in partnership between Dalhousie Medical School and Cape Breton University.

“The CBMC is poised to become a cornerstone of healthcare transformation in Nova Scotia,” said Dr. Jennifer Hall, senior associate dean at CBMC. “The rural pathway is designed to educate physicians who are not only clinically excellent but deeply committed to supporting rural healthcare in this province. A warm welcome to Nova Scotia’s future doctors.”

The Government of Nova Scotia is funding the operations at the new medical campus for two years. Additionally, they are funding five medical school seats at Dalhousie University.

The province first announced the $58.9 million investment in March 2023 to develop the campus.

The new medical campus is in a temporary space at the former Nova Scotia Community College but will move to the new medical sciences building on Cape Breton University’s campus when construction is completed.

Construction was expected to be completed by end of October but for now it remains unclear when the new campus will be finished.

“The move in time will depend on a number of different things. One is we want to ensure that the building is complete. And we don’t want to be too disruptive for the students’ studies, so we’ll pick a time that all those things align,” Dr. Hall said.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald.

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