Expanding Access to Medical Training in NW Alberta

On September 2, 2025, the new Northern Alberta Medical Program at Northwestern Polytechnic in Grande Prairie, welcomed its first cohort of 30 students. The program is part of the provincial governments initiative to increase access to family doctors and healthcare professionals in rural and northern communities.

This new program is part of Alberta's investment of approximately $376 million over four years, to increase the number of graduates from the province's medical schools. Under the program, the University of Alberta has partnered with Northwestern Polytechnic to deliver Doctor of Medicine education at the Rural Medical Education Program Training Centre in Grande Prairie. This will allow medical students to complete the majority of their medical education outside the larger urban centres of Edmonton and Calgary.

For more information about the program and the government's work to increase medical capacity in rural communities, visit the Government of Alberta website here.