Nova Scotia ponies up first 2 years of operational costs for CBU's new med school - Action News
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Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia ponies up first 2 years of operational costs for CBU's new med school

The Nova Scotia government is not only paying nearly $59 million for the construction of a new medical school building at Cape Breton University, it's also covering operational costs for the first two years at nearly $12 million.

Province building $59M building, covering initial operations at nearly $6M annually

A man in a blue suit at a podium with two flags behind it gestures with his hand while another man looks on in the background.
Premier Tim Houston says investing in a medical school at Cape Breton University and graduating doctors who will work in rural areas will help the government fix health care. (Tom Ayers/CBC)

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston hasannounced operational funding for the first two years of the new medical school that's under construction at Cape Breton University.

The province is providing $11.6 million over two years, with plans to figure out longer-term funding after the school has been open for a year.

It is slated to open next year and Houston said graduating doctors who will work in rural areas will help the provincial government achieve its top priority.

"I'm so impressed with the progress towards the fall of 2025," the premier said Tuesday in Sydney. "This is a really important pillar in the overall fix to health care in the province that puts us in a good place for the long term."

A group of people stand on green grass in front of a fenced-off construction zone containing gravel and several concrete and wooden structures in the back.
Cape Breton University president David Dingwall, centre, stands with a group of people involved in construction of a medical school building slated to open in the fall of 2025. (Tom Ayers/CBC)

The government also announced $1.5 million to support five additional medical students at Dalhousie University starting this year, bringing the total to 30 seats aimed at eventually graduating family physicians in rural Nova Scotia, including Cape Breton, Mi'kmaq and African Nova Scotian communities.

The seats include a return-of-service agreement that requires the doctors to work in rural Nova Scotia for several years after graduation.

Creating a new medical school in Cape Breton,under Dalhousie's guidance, is one of the province's strategies to find primary care for thegrowing number of Nova Scotians without a family doctor.

The province is providing the $58.9 million in capital funding to build the new medical sciences building at CBU, plus a collaborative care clinic for up to 10,000 patients and an expanded health and counselling centre.

A man in a blue suit with a white shirt, yellow tie and glasses stands at a podium with two flags behind him while another man and a woman applaud.
Dingwall was joined by Houston and CBU associate vice-president Tanya Brann-Barrett at the funding announcement in Sydney. (Tom Ayers/CBC)

CBU president David Dingwall said construction is on schedule and the operational funding is a key piece that will ensure the medical school can open on time.

"You can't reach out to someone and say, 'Hey, will you come and teach at the med school?' if you don't have the money to do it," said Dingwall, adding that the time is right to secure operational funding.

"With the med school progressing so well in terms of the capital side, it just made a lot of sense."

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