B.C. set to open Western Canada’s first new medical school in decades

Students watch as B.C. Premier David Eby speaks during a news conference at Clayton Heights Secondary School, in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

SURREY — Applications are being accepted for those wanting to become doctors through Simon Fraser University, in what the British Columbia government says is the first new medical school in Western Canada in decades.

Premier David Eby announced Tuesday that the school will begin instruction at an interim location next summer, but a permanent site at Surrey’s City Centre has also been secured.

The premier says the school is part of the province’s efforts to improve health care by addressing B.C.’s need for more primary-care physicians.

The initial class of 48 students will start at Simon Fraser University’s existing campus in Surrey, while construction of the permanent facility begins late next year and is expected to be ready for classes by the fall 2030.

The estimated cost of the new medical school is about $520 million, with the province saying the cost will be shared between the government and the university.

“The new state-of-the-art SFU medical school, along with the new Surrey hospital and B.C. Cancer Centre, will make this city a hub of innovative and high-quality health care,” Eby says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2025.