What will be Ontario’s first medical school devoted to training family doctors is getting a cash infusion. CTV News Toronto learned Wednesday that the provincial government will commit $55.8 million to York University’s School of Medicine. The school is scheduled to welcome students in August 2028 on a site neighbouring Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital. In December, the Ontario Medical Association estimated 2.5 million Ontarians do not have access to primary care—a number that could grow with many physicians retiring or considering leaving medicine. The Ford government has committed $3.4 billion to connect every Ontarian to a family doctor or primary care team by 2029. “York University is going to be a big portion of ensuring that we have enough family physicians,” Nolan Quinn, Ontario Minister of Colleges, Universities, and Research Excellence and Security, told CTV News Toronto in an interview. The new provincial dollars will help the nascent school pay for its accreditation, curriculum development, faculty recruitment and training, establishing a medical library, and some initial operating costs. York University is raising $350 million to build the medical school. York Region has also committed $25 million to the project, the city of Vaughan has donated the land, and the province has offered a $9 million planning grant. “Once completed, the new school will add hundreds of new family medicine seats, ensuring that Ontario has a strong and reliable pipeline of family doctors for decades to come,” Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones said alongside Quinn at a Thursday news conference to announce the funding. The primary care-focused school will have 80 undergraduate and 102 postgraduate seats to start, with a plan to grow to 240 undergrad and 293 post-grad spots. Toronto Metropolitan University opened its School of Medicine in Brampton in Sept. 2025 with 94 undergraduate and 117 postgraduate positions when it reaches full capacity.
