Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) new school of medicine welcomed its inaugural cohort—an estimated 176 students—to its Brampton campus. As Ontario faces an urgent need for family physicians, the facility is the first of its kind in 20 years, built with a nearly $180 million investment from the provincial government.
Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman, president of the Ontario Medical Association, called it an important milestone for health care. “The opening of TMU’s School of Medicine in Brampton represents a meaningful step forward in addressing the growing demand for doctors across the province,” she said. “By training more physicians right here at home, we are strengthening the future of care in our communities. We look forward to supporting these future doctors as they begin their journey in medicine.”
The school will have 94 undergraduate seats in each year of study and 117 post-graduate entry positions when operating at full capacity, alongside two primary care teaching clinics to train for real-world settings.
TMU’s facilities management and development team was tasked with overseeing an ambitious, phased renovation of the former Bramalea Civic Centre, which was constructed in 1972. Diamond Schmitt, along with Indigenous-owned design firm Two Row Architect, reimagined the brutalist architecture of the original civic building.
The university’s Indigenous design guidelines, which were created in partnership with Two Row Architects and the Indigenous space sub-working group, are referenced throughout the project to guide and promote Indigenous knowledge integration.
At the opening ceremony, Orlando Corporation pledged up to $25 million for a dollar-for-dollar match for donations to the school to help support training.
Beginning in fall 2026, all medical schools in Ontario will be required to allocate at least 95 per cent of all undergraduate medical spaces to Ontario residents, with the other five per cent reserved for students from the rest of Canada.
In addition to the TMU campus, the government is also creating a new medical school at York University, which is slated to open in 2028.
Feature photo by Diamond Schmitt
