Lakehead University will break ground this summer on a new veterinary training complex as part of a veterinarian training program announced last year in partnership with the University of Guelph.
The Thunder Bay school announced April 22 it will soon issue a request for proposals for a contractor to renovate an existing building and build a new large-animal education facility in time for the 2027 cohort of the program.
“People who live in Northern Ontario deserve equal access to services found in the rest of the province, and that includes medical care for our pets and farm animals,” said Dr. Gillian Siddall, president and vice-chancellor of Lakehead University, said in an April 22 news release.
“Solutions for the North need to be homegrown in the North to meet our unique needs. As an avid animal lover and champion for local economic growth, I am proud to enter this first-of-its-kind partnership with the University of Guelph to educate northern students who plan to build their practice in underserved communities. Help is on the way.”
SEE: Provincial budget paves the way for university veterinary program
Under the agreement, 20 students from Northern Ontario each year will enter the program, which will incorporate Indigenous perspectives and approaches to animal care and include experiential learning opportunities specific to northern practice.
The first two cohorts of students from Northern Ontario — in 2025 and 2026 — will complete the full program at the University of Guelph.
Starting in 2027, northern students will complete their first two years of studies in Thunder Bay before finishing their last two years in Guelph.
Lakehead said that student recruitment for the first cohort is underway.
SEE: Lakehead University now targeting 2025 start for vet program
The collaborative program, which was announced in 2023, is designed to alleviate a “critical” shortage of veterinarians in Northern Ontario, for both farm animals and family pets, the school said.
The provincial government is providing $14.7 million to support the program. Of that, $4.5 million will go toward Lakehead’s construction costs, and the remaining $10.2 million is being set aside to help graduated veterinarians set up their large-animal practice in underserviced areas through the Veterinary Incentive Program.
Launching the new Collaborative Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program with Lakehead marks the first time in more than 30 years the Ontario Veterinary College has increased spots for veterinary students.
