The government of Ontario will provide an additional $3.3 million in funding to the University of Ottawa to fund the enrolment growth in the Faculty of Medicine that occurred between 2000-01 and 2005-06. Starting in 2006-07, this funding will grow to almost $4.7 million.
The government is also providing more than $840,000 to the University in 2005-06 to support this year’s enrolment increase, growing to more than $4.2 million at full implementation. This funding includes support for uOttawa’s unique bilingual program.
The University expanded its first-year medical enrolment by 16 new students in the fall of 2005. Seven of those spaces were designated for Aboriginal students. Four new first-year medical spaces will also be added in the fall of 2008 and will be designated for francophone students.
Overall, 104 additional first-year medical spaces are being created at Ontario’s medical schools, not counting the 56 that were added when the Northern Ontario School of Medicine opened its doors in 2005. Over the next three years, the province will add 78 spaces at satellite campuses to be opened by the University of Toronto, McMaster University and the University of Western Ontario.
By 2008, there will be a total of 852 first-year medical student places across the province.
“The Government of Ontario has progressively responded to the shortfall of MDs over the past five years with a significant increase in undergraduate enrolment,” said Dr. Peter Walker, dean of the Faculty of Medicine. “The Faculty of Medicine is proud to play its role in meeting the needs.”
There has been a total increase of 48 undergraduate places in Medicine funded by the province at the University of Ottawa since 2000. “This represents an increase of 57 per cent over our historical cohort of 84 students,” Dr. Walker noted.
