Dr. Alika Lafontaine (MD’06) was named president of the Canadian Medical Association, and is the first Indigenous leader and the youngest person ever to hold the prestigious position. (Photo: Canadian Medical Association)

USask alum named president of Canadian Medical Association

On August 21, 2022, University of Saskatchewan (USask) alum Dr. Alika Lafontaine (MD’06) was named president of the Canadian Medical Association, and is the first Indigenous leader and the youngest person ever to hold the prestigious position.  

By University Communications

Lafontaine will oversee over 68,000 physicians and trainees in this new role.  

Having grown up in Regina, SK, Lafontaine received his Doctor of Medicine degree from USask and went on to become an anesthesiologist at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Grande Prairie and associate clinical professor in the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. 

As told to the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Lafontaine said he sees current health system challenges such as staffing shortages and long emergency room wait-times as opportunities to advocate for increased team-based clinical services that he believes are the future of health care. 

“We need a generation of Canadians to be very literate when they know what they want out of their health-care system,” Lafontaine said in an interview with the StarPhoenix. 

Lafontaine is of Cree, Anishinaabe and Polynesian ancestry. He credits USask College of Medicine Indigenous Programming Initiatives senior lead Valerie Arnault-Pelletier with supporting him throughout his medical school journey at USask. 

Read more in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.