About CMF
The Canadian Medical Forum brings together leaders of Canada’s major national medical organizations to discuss issues of priority to physicians, their patients, and the Canadian health care system.
The CMF is a forum for consultation, relationship and consensus building, strategy development and joint action where appropriate.
National Collaboration
Foster an enhanced understanding and appreciation of one another’s organizations and their positions on relevant issues and achieve consensus among the members on cross-cutting issues in medicine.
Strategy Development
Develop strategy by prioritizing issues where collective strategies and actions would be beneficial and develop strategies in defined areas.
Joint Action
Undertake joint action by implementing collective projects, issue joint position statements, carry out other collaborative actions and speak with a united voice, where appropriate and required and having an opportunity to review and be signatories on all CMF documents.
Improving Healthcare
Build relationships and concensus with the goal of improving health care in the Canadian system. This involves identifying relevant issues and policies of common interest and concern that would benefit from CMF discussion and potential collective action and informing and sharing perspectives with one another related to the above matters.
The Forum Structure
Our organizational chart outlines the structure of our forum and its working groups.
Our History
A look into the history of the CMF.
Our Members
The CMF has 13 Member organizations and 2 Observer organizations.
Member Meetings
The CMF meets six times per year with one of those meetings attended by the full CMF (CEOs/Executive Directors/Equivalents and Presidents).
Dr. Kimberly Williams
Current Chair
Canadian Medical Forum
Dr. Kimberly Williams is currently a neuropsychiatrist at the University of Calgary. She is the current Past President of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada and a proud mom of three little girls. She is a former President of the Resident Doctors of Canada. She has been a member of the Canadian Medical Association Board of Directors. She was also the Social Medical Affairs Officer of the Junior Doctors Network of the World Medical Association and the Vice-President Global Health for the Canadian Federation of Medical Students. Prior to medical school Dr. Williams completed a BSc in pharmacology and an MSc in Global Health from the University of Alberta. She is a researcher in the areas of medical education, climate change, global health, and neuropsychiatry.
She has been awarded the Award for Young Leaders from the Canadian Medical Association, the Kristin Sivertz Resident Leadership Award from the Royal College of physicians and surgeons of Canada, the Sandra Banner Student Award for Leadership from the Canadian Resident Matching Association and is one of Calgary’s Top 40 under 40. In September 2024 she was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Metal for her work supporting women in medicine.
In 2014 Dr. Williams created Kolabo with Dr. Watterson a fellow resident, which is an organization associated with the University of Calgary, that works collaboratively with the Catholic University of Allied Health Sciences in Tanzania to build healthier communities by creating collaborative, broad-based mental health education for trainees. She is a global health enthusiast, which includes writing about key topics in this area including a chapter author in Millennials Speak: Essays on the 21st Century and in Upstream Medicine: Doctors for a Healthy Society and Essentials in Global Health.
Past Chairs
The Canadian Medical Forum was formed in 1990 and historically, the Presidents and CEOs of the member organizations have selected the Chair by a majority vote.
Consideration is given to ensure that the chair rotates through CMF member organizations. The Chair is selected for an initial term of two (2) years, after which the term is renewable once or extended once up to a maximum of two (2) additional years.
The Chairs (and their nominating organizations) have been:
Dr. E. Ann Collins
Canadian Medical Association
(2022-2024)
Dr. F. Gigi Osler
Canadian Medical Association
(2020-2022)
Dr. Cecil Rorabeck
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
(2016-2020)
Dr. James Rourke
Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada
(2012-2016)
Dr. Ruth Wilson
College of Family Physicians of Canada
(2009-2012)
Dr. Dana Hanson
Canadian Federation of Medical Students & Canadian Association of Internes and Residents
(2006-2009)
Dr. Peter Barrett
Canadian Medical Association
(2002-2005)
Dr. Nick Busing
College of Family Physicians of Canada
(1999-2002)
Dr. Douglas Courtemanche
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
(1996-1999)
Dr. Jock Murray
Association of Canadian Medical Colleges
(1993-1996)
Dr. Don Wilson
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
(1990-1993)
Member & Observer
Organizations
Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS)
We are an organization representing over 9,000 medical students from 15 Canadian medical student societies from coast to coast. We represent medical students to the public, to the federal government, and to national and international medical organizations.
Canadian Medical Association (CMA)
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is leading a national movement of physicians who believe in a better future of health. Our goal is a more sustainable, accessible health system and a new culture of medicine that champions equity, diversity and inclusion.
Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FMRAC)
The Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada provides a national structure for the 13 provincial and territorial medical regulatory authorities to:
- Present and pursue issues of common concern and interest; and,
- Share, consider and develop positions on such matters.
