Medical school to open at Cape Breton University by 2025, Houston says

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston's state of the province address on Friday touched on the economy, focused on the government's firm commitment to fix health care and included the announcement of a new medical school for Cape Breton University.

The Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion on Sydney's waterfront was packed with members of the business community and politicians who heard Houston say CBU will be training the next generation of doctors in conjunction with the province's only other medical school at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

The school is expected to start taking students by the fall of 2025, he said, and sooner if possible, but there is no estimate yet of the cost.

"There will probably be money involved at some point in time as it moves along," Houston told reporters after his address. "The support is there financially to make it happen. We want this to happen in Cape Breton."

CBU president David Dingwall thanked the premier for backing the university.

"Today marks a monumental day in the history of Cape Breton University [and] most importantly, the health care of Nova Scotians," Dingwall said.

The school is expected to graduate up to 30 new doctors a year for at least the first six years, Dingwall said, which will help Indigenous and rural residents of the island and the province.

CBU expects to take over the provincially owned buildings at the nearby Nova Scotia Community College, which is moving to new buildings in downtown Sydney.

The old buildings on the university campus are expected to house the school of nursing and the school of social work, as well as a new primary health-care clinic for up to 10,000 people.

CBU has signed a memorandum of understanding with Dalhousie to work together on establishing the new medical school in Cape Breton and they are working to detail the costs, Dingwall said.

There's a shortage of housing in the community, but new medical residents may be accommodated in old hospital buildings that are being redeveloped by the province, he added.

In his address, the premier talked about the economy, highlighting the growing population, investments in green energy and efforts to attract more skilled labour.

Those initiatives will help boost the province's revenues, he said.

However, Houston emphasized that his Progressive Conservative government is focused on fixing health care and he is urging everyone in the industry and government to make it happen.

"We need more and we need to go faster and as for the cost — whatever it takes," he said.

Houston said Nova Scotia spends 41 cents of every dollar on health care and it's not sustainable.

"Going on the current trends, it could consume our entire provincial budget in just a little over two decades," he said.

"The prime minister has said there's no point in putting money on a broken system, and I agree ... and fortunately, there are many ways the prime minister can help."

The premier said he is looking forward to a meeting with other premiers and the prime minister next week, where he will ask for more federal funding, but also help with increased immigration, especially among trained health-care workers.