Medical Matters: 2025 leadership news

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By Dr. Scott McLeod, CPSA Registrar & CEO

I want to start this month’s Medical Matters by reflecting on how relationships have played a role in shaping CPSA’s strategic directions and our path ahead before I share some leadership updates with you.

Back in 2020, a number of Indigenous physicians and allies reached out to CPSA to share concerns about the inequities and outright racism First Nations, Métis and Inuit people face in healthcare settings. These health leaders rightly called on CPSA to carry out our mandate of protecting patients through setting expectations around the care Indigenous patients receive from regulated members.

We took this call to action seriously. We listened, and in listening we learned that we needed long-term guidance to help improve healthcare experiences for Indigenous patients and to take important steps on CPSA’s reconciliation journey.

Along this journey, CPSA has been honoured to be guided by Indigenous leaders, including Dr. Nicole Cardinal. Dr. Cardinal, a First Nation physician practising in her community of Saddle Lake Cree Nation and St. Paul, was one of the physicians who first reached out to us in 2020. The next year, Dr. Cardinal ran for and was elected to CPSA Council. Last September, she became a member of the Indigenous Advisory Circle, a Council committee formed in 2021 to provide advice on how we can, within our regulatory role, promote culturally safe, equitable care for Indigenous people.

Dr. Cardinal’s leadership at CPSA and as a CPSA Councillor has been significant. I personally have learned so much working with her and hearing her perspectives on medical regulation and patient safety. Her Council colleagues clearly agree—in May, through majority vote, they overwhelmingly supported her re-appointment to a second term. It’s an absolute honour to see Dr. Cardinal return to the Council table, and I’m thrilled to share that, in 2025, she will serve as CPSA Council Chair. Dr. Cardinal is passionate about safe health care for all patients in Alberta, and her collaborative, inclusive approach to leadership will serve both the medical profession we regulate and the patients we are mandated to protect.

Looking towards 2025, I also have some personal news to share. I recently shared with Council and the CPSA team that I plan to retire from CPSA next year. My wife and I had long-term plans to move to Ontario to be closer to family, and an opportunity came up that means this move will happen sooner than we’d anticipated. This decision comes with mixed emotions, as the seven years I’ve served as CPSA Registrar and CEO have been incredible. The CPSA team, Councillors and the members we regulate are passionate about high-quality care, and the way we’ve navigated challenges together over the years demonstrates our shared commitment to patients in Alberta. At the same time, I’m looking forward to living closer to family and spending more time with loved ones.

I haven’t set a retirement date yet, and I remain focused on what’s best for patients in Alberta—we still have much to do together over the next several months. I will share an update with you once my plans are finalized. In the meantime, I want to thank you for your dedication to medicine. This profession is challenging, complex and meaningful, and you continually show up for your patients in ways that make a difference in their lives. Alberta has some of the best healthcare providers in Canada, and I consider myself fortunate to serve as your Registrar.

Scott