Canadian medical associations ‘relieved’ as school accreditation splits from U.S.

OTTAWA — Canadian medical associations are marking the first school year of a new accreditation system for medical schools that is fully separate from the United States.

A news release from the Canadian Medical Association said that, as of July, medical schools in the country are no longer jointly accredited by Canadian and American bodies.

It said leaders at the CMA and the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada are “relieved” and medical schools are now being assessed “solely according to Canadian standards.”

The move began long before recent political developments in the United States but the release said the U.S. government’s move to make it illegal to include equity, diversity and inclusion requirements in the accreditation process at American medical schools means the AFMC and CMA have “an enhanced duty to protect EDI principles.”

Dr. Constance LeBlanc, president and CEO of the AFMC, said in the news release that while sharing medical school standards with the U.S. has worked well in the past, “it is timely to set our own course.”

“Canadian medical schools play an essential role in ensuring that the highly valued Canadian health care system continues to provide accessible, quality care that meets the evolving needs of Canada’s diverse populations,” LeBlanc said.

“This requires strong accreditation standards” aligned with “Canadian values and realities,” she added.

There has been a gradual push to separate Canadian medical school accreditation from the U.S. in recent years and the decision to pursue a full “decoupling” was made in 2021, the CMA said.

In 2013, the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools introduced “social accountability” as a new standard for accreditation, which differentiated Canada’s standards from those in the U.S.

The CMA defines the social accountability standard as a doctor’s commitment to addressing the priority health concerns of a community.

Before that point, the CMA said, the standards set by the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools and the U.S. Liaison Committee on Medical Education were “identical.”

CMA president Dr. Margot Burnell told The Canadian Press that the separation is a “really important” move for both students and schools.

“It’s been in the works for a little bit but with the changes in administration in the U.S., where schools were banned from talking about DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion, this is critically important,” she said. “It allows diverse ethnic groups to apply to medical school, to be part of physicians practising in the future and to serve the communities in which they’ll be practising.”

Burnell said the move shows that Canada is training physicians to look after their communities.

“That can be the social determinants of health, it can be ethnicity, it can be rural, urban populations, but it basically means that we can train for our Canadian needs,” she said. “It allows underserved areas and students to participate in medical education, and to serve their people.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2025.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press