Cape Breton Medical Campus Meets Major Milestones

Significant progress has been made across key areas of the Cape Breton Medical Campus, including admissions, staffing, infrastructure and programming as a result of dedicated collaboration between Cape Breton University and Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine with continued support from the province of Nova Scotia.

“We are thrilled with the progress at the Cape Breton Medical Campus and are very much looking forward to welcoming the first class of medical students late August,” says CBU President, David C. Dingwall. “Nova Scotia as a whole, but especially rural areas of our great province, will benefit in major ways from the added medical capacity in the years to come.”

Over the past few months, the CBMC has:

• Sent letters of offer to the first class of students through Dalhousie Medical School Admissions. This milestone followed a thorough admissions process as part of ongoing admissions processes.
• Successfully expanded leadership and staffing positions to ensure student success. Hiring is set to be complete in the coming weeks.
• Appointed top-tier physician tutors who will play an integral role in the academic process.

Additionally, the CBMC campus’s two major structures have seen incredible progress in 2025. The brand-new medical sciences centre (currently being built) has seen the completion of all foundational and exterior framing, making way for the installation of windows, drywall and millwork. This building is scheduled for completion at the end of October 2025.

Renovation of the former NSCC Marconi building, where CBMC Administrative offices are currently located, was partially completed through a phased approach. Focus on this building is now on classrooms, student services and the collaborative clinic which Nova Scotia Health will operate and will be complete in August.

“Watching the campus take shape each day has been inspiring and has served as a driving force for everyone involved as we continue to reach key milestones,” says Dingwall. “We are fortunate to be working with skilled tradespeople here in Cape Breton as we see this game-changing building become a reality. We are also mindful that some materials critical to the campus are supplied by our neighbors to the south. We continue to work with our partners and suppliers around potential tariffs to mitigate risks and ensure the readiness of the campus to provide exceptional education to medical students as they begin their journey to become physicians. While the main building will be complete in late October, we are proud that there will be no impact program start dates.”

Over the next few months, the CBMC team will complete hiring and prepare to welcome students.

“Dr. Jennifer Hall, Senior Associate Dean, and the entire CBMC team have taken on the responsibility of developing the foundational pieces and processes exceptionally well,” says Dr. David Anderson, Dean of Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine. “This partnership has been a tremendous success, and the campus has already begun making an impact. With only three months until the campus welcomes students for its inaugural year, the momentum of work driven by the CBMC team and partners continues to build.”

To learn more about CBMC and its progress updates, visit www.cbu.ca/cbmc.