Medical school expansion aims to tackle Alberta’s doctor shortage
By Ocean Henry and Vama Saini, March 16 2025—
Albertans continue to struggle to find family doctors as the province’s medical schools face limitations in expanding enrollment without additional government funding. Advocacy groups, such as Friends of Medicare, warn that Alberta’s population boom has not been met with a proportional increase in medical school seats, exacerbating the ongoing physician shortage.
In a statement to the Gauntlet, the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) provided insight into the province’s efforts to address the gap between Alberta’s growing population and medical school enrollment.
The CSM confirmed that the UCalgary Doctor of Medicine program has consistently accepted approximately 150 students per year over the past decade. However, in response to increasing demands for healthcare professionals, the Alberta Ministry of Advanced Education approved an expansion of medical school seats.
“The incremental increase (10 in 2023, 20 in 2024 and 30 in 2025) added 60 additional seats to the Doctor of Medicine program,” read the statement.
The CSM emphasized that the pathway from medical school to practicing as a physician is complex. After completing their Doctor of Medicine degree, graduates must enter residency programs, which an external organization, CARMS, manages. While the Cumming School of Medicine does not track residency placements, recent efforts have also included increasing postgraduate training positions, ensuring that more students from the expanded enrollment can stay in Alberta for their residencies.
“There are opportunities for students from the expansion to stay in Alberta for residency,” read the statement.
In addition to the medical school seat expansion, UCalgary is investing in new health workforce training initiatives to enhance healthcare accessibility. These include the Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) program — the first of its kind in Alberta — and the Southern Alberta Medical Program (SAMP), which trains undergraduate medical students at the University of Lethbridge and in rural communities. SAMP is designed to encourage more graduates to practice in rural areas where physician shortages are most acute.
The CSM further highlighted their advocacy efforts in securing program expansions since 2021, including a recently announced rural medical expansion. They also referenced research conducted by the Centre for Health Policy at the O’Brien Institute for Public Health, which examines major healthcare policy challenges in Alberta and aims to foster constructive public discussions on these issues.
Additionally, CSM Dean Todd Anderson and Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry Dean Brenda Hemmelgarn co-authored an opinion piece, Building a Future for Family Medicine, contributing to the broader conversation on addressing healthcare challenges in the province.
For more insights into Alberta’s healthcare system challenges and opportunities, the full report from the Centre for Health Policy can be accessed here.