Canadian Medical Association’s 1st Indigenous leader takes office

Along with improving work environments, Dr. Alika Lafontaine says he also wants to advocate for a national standard of health care.

In a brightly lit surgical room around sunrise, Dr. Alika Lafontaine recounts why he chose to become an anesthesiologist as he fills syringes for his first patient of the day.

The 40-year-old doctor – who on Monday became the first Indigenous and youngest president of the Canadian Medical Association – says he wanted to be a surgeon for several years before he shadowed an anesthesiologist who told him he should consider that field instead.

“At around 3 a.m., there was a code call. We both rushed there,” Lafontaine said in an interview earlier this month as he began a 24-hour shift at Grande Prairie Regional Hospital in northwestern Alberta.

“It was interesting watching my friend work, because within a few minutes of him walking into the room, suddenly, this scene of chaos became really calm. The patient had been stabilized. Everybody knew what they were doing,” says Lafontaine.

“I want to be able to help out in situations that feel chaotic.”

The new CMA president has spent the past year shadowing his predecessor, pediatrician Dr. Katharine Smart, who is based in Whitehorse.

Lafontaine – who is of Cree, Anishinaabe, Metis and Pacific Islander ancestry – is to now speak for the group, which has been advocating for Canadian health-care professionals and patients by engaging with governments, communities and other stakeholders for some 155 years.

“It’s as old as Canada,” he says.