2021 Royal College Council Elections
Elections to the Council of the Royal College will be taking place at the Annual Meeting of the Members (AMM).
- When: Thursday, February 25, 2021
- Time: 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. (EST)
- Where: Virtual event
The Royal College’s Nominating Committee (NC) met on October 19, 2020, and considered all who applied through the open Council recruitment process from September 1-30, 2020. The committee made its selections based on the advertised recruitment criteria and the diversity needs of Council.
Royal College members are encouraged to review the nominees selected by the NC. After reviewing this information, members may add to the NC’s slate of nominations by self-nominating before January 14, 2021, for one of the region- and division-specific Council positions that are coming to term in February 2021.
Find out about the opportunity to volunteer on the Royal College’s Nominating Committee
Meet the Fellows selected by the Nominating Committee
Royal College Council consists of 24 region- and division-specific Fellows (Article 11.1.2). Eleven of these positions are coming to term in February 2021.
Division of Medicine
Division of Surgery
Additional nominations – deadline January 14
Fellows may self-nominate to fill any of the impending region- and division-specific vacancies on Royal College Council, provided they meet the region and division criteria of an available position. Nominations must be submitted on the official Council nomination form. Each candidate is required to submit a short form biography (300 words) and a head and shoulders photo of themselves in addition to uploading five signatures of Fellows who support their nomination, and who belong to the same division and reside in the same region as themselves.
The deadline to submit additional nominations / self-nominate is Thursday, January 14, 2021; applications received after this date will not be processed.
- Official form to submit additional nominations for Council - Please note that the nomination process has now closed.
- Official form to collect the support and signatures of five Fellows (MS word document)
- Council member qualifications (PDF)
- Summary of Council nomination and election regulations (PDF)
- Names of current Royal College Council members
Tips for completing the Council nomination form, please:
- Use the latest versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge
- Be prepared to complete the nomination form in one sitting
- Prepare your biography and photo to upload in the online nomination form
- Download the form for collecting support and signatures from five Fellows and be prepared to upload the completed document when submitting your nomination form.
Council elections regulations
When the notice of the Annual Meeting of the Members (AMM) is sent on January 29, 2021, all Fellows will be informed if additional nominations were received.
| If additional nominations are received |
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| If no additional nominations are received |
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If you have any questions, please contact nominations@royalcollege.ca.
L. Trevor Young, MD, PhD, FRCPC, FCAHS
INCUMBENT Toronto, Ontario
Dr. L. Trevor Young is dean of the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine and vice-provost, Relations with Health Care Institutions. He graduated from the University of Manitoba’s School of Medicine in 1983. He then completed his Postgraduate training in Psychiatry at McGill University and the University of Toronto in 1987, where he also completed his PhD in Medical Sciences in 1995 and was a research fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland (1988-1989). Dr. Young has held the position of professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University; professor and head, Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia; and professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He was also physician-in-chief, executive vice president, Clinical Programs at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto.
Dr. Young is a clinician-scientist who studies the molecular basis of bipolar disorder and its treatment. His awards include the 2015 Colvin Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Mood Disorders Research from the Brain & Behaviour Research Foundation, the 2003 Douglas Utting Award for outstanding contributions in the field of mood disorders, and the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CCNP) 2006 Heinz Lehmann Award. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (DFAPA) and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS).
He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Sinai Health, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and Trillium Health Partners as well as the University Health Network’s Board of Trustees. As a member of Royal College Council, Dr. Young intends to share his insights on medical education gained through his leadership and governance experience. In addition, he plans to help advance the Royal College’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
Anurag Saxena, MD, M.Ed., MBA, FRCPC, FCAP, CHE, CCPE
NEW Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Dr. Anurag Saxena is a professor of Pathology as well as associate dean, Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME), at the University of Saskatchewan. He is engaged in clinical service, administration, teaching and research. He holds qualifications in Anatomic Pathology (Canada and USA) and Hematopathology (USA), Education (M.Ed.), Business Administration (MBA) – both degrees with leadership theses, Health Care Administration (Certified Health Executive by the Canadian College of Health Leaders and Canadian Certified Physician Executive by the Canadian Society of Physician Leaders) in addition to coaching in leadership and emotional intelligence. He has been practising medicine for the last 23 years.
Dr. Saxena has experience on governing, executive and advisory boards in medical education including the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS), the Canadian Association for Medical Education (CAME) and Altus Assessments and within the general community (Saskatoon Open Door Society and India-Canada Cultural Association, Saskatoon). His governance experience also includes service on the College of Medicine executive committees at the University of Saskatchewan, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada’s Future of Medical Education in Canada Postgraduate (FMEC PG) Project Steering Committee, and the Ministry of Health in Saskatchewan’s Physician Forecasting Steering Committee. Through these opportunities he has utilized his abilities to positively impact effective governance (strategy, compliance, ethics and culture).
Dr. Saxena has practised evidence-based administration and leadership, effectively managed operations and human resources, enhanced career engagement opportunities, including the implementation of succession planning, and forged collaborative relationships across organizational boundaries. His firm financial knowledge coupled with past experiences as treasurer for CaRMS and CAME has allowed him to achieve balanced budgets and increased Return on Investment (ROI). He has combined data-driven decision-making with human factors for Business process re-engineering (e.g. applying Lean management to Education) and timely achievement of organizational objectives. His success is reflected in affecting policy, developing and implementing strategy and leading change in accreditation, the FMEC PG Project, Competency-based medical education (CBME), PGME expansion, and current initiatives on transformative learning and social responsiveness.
Dr. Saxena is passionate about leadership and systems and pursues these through continuous learning and research. He has delivered an array of leadership workshops locally, nationally and internationally. With a dialectic worldview integrating philosophy with pragmatism, Dr. Saxena is committed to promoting healthy, balanced societies and personal well-being.
Samuel Ogunbiyi, MBBS, MD (Research), FRCS(Edin), FRCSC
NEW Innisfil, Ontario
Dr. Samuel Ogunbiyi is a staff surgeon at Stevenson Memorial Hospital, Alliston, Ontario with 20 years of experience as a clinician, researcher and medical innovator.
Receiving his medical degree in 1998 from the University of Ilorin in Nigeria, he initially worked as a doctor in Nigeria, before re-locating to the U.K. and working in South Wales as a medical officer in a community hospital. This birthed his love for General Surgery and medical innovation.
He then proceeded to work as a research scientist in the surgery department of St Thomas’ Hospital in London, England, producing numerous publications in Scientific Journals. Dr. Ogunbiyi completed his general surgical residency program at the University of Nottingham in 2015, with full certification in general surgery in the U.K.
After re-locating to Canada in 2016, he completed a one-year Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship at the University of Toronto whilst completing the Royal College exams and secured a staff surgeon position at Stevenson Memorial Hospital, Alliston, Ontario.
Dr. Ogunbiyi’s experience in leadership and Innovation includes serving as the resident representative for three years on the University of Nottingham’s General Surgical Training Committee, which implemented competency-based learning into the residency program. He is also a community leader and member of the Board of Directors for Innisfil Community Church. He is company founder and CEO of JESH Health, an online startup company with an iOS app that shares surgical, procedure-specific patient information leaflets used in the hospital and virtual care models. Dr. Ogunbiyi is on the clinical advisory group, Ontario e-services program, overseeing strategies to optimize clinician adoption of e-services.
His goal is to contribute to Royal College Council by adding to its diversity, and attending to issues arising in the rapidly changing landscape of medicine. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that to continue to lead, physicians must be able to respond and adapt quickly, embracing new strategies and innovation, whilst holding onto relevant old principles.
Terry Colbourne, MD, FRCPC
NEW Winnipeg, Manitoba
Dr. Terry Colbourne completed his undergraduate and postgraduate training at the University of Manitoba. He remains in Winnipeg working as a respirologist at the Health Sciences Centre with a practice that includes inpatient respiratory and internal medicine at all three tertiary sites. He is presently splitting his time in Ontario while pursuing further training as a clinical fellow in the Interstitial Lung Disease program at the University of Toronto, acquiring experience to further serve his patients in Manitoba.
Dr. Colbourne has a long history of engaging in leadership activities in the realm of medical education governance and policy development. Nationally, his roles have included Governance Committee chair and Board director with the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS), vice president and Training Committee chair of Resident Doctors of Canada (RDoC), and Executive Board member of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS). With RDoC, he was deeply engaged in the development of national principles regarding resident data collection, accreditation and Competency-based medical education (CBME). He has balanced these national roles with local leadership including serving as president of the Manitoba Medical Students’ Association (MMSA) and chief resident of both his residency training programs. He has also worked with the Royal College as a member of the Accreditation Committee, the Committee on Specialty Education, the Task Force on Resident Input into Accreditation Process, and as a surveyor on multiple accreditation visits.
Dr. Colbourne has explored several avenues to continue his pursuits as a leader for positive change early in his career. Inspired by our system’s commitment toward continuous quality improvement led by the Royal College with the launch of the new accreditation system and CBME, he is completing a Master of Science in Healthcare Quality (MScHQ) degree at Queen’s University. He continues research initiatives aimed at understanding the resident experience with the implementation of CBME. With extensive experience in the governance of our complicated education system and advanced training in health systems and quality improvement, Dr. Colbourne hopes to serve as an asset to Royal College Council and its committees and would be a strong representative for Region 2.
Kaif Pardhan, MD, FRCPC
INCUMBENT Toronto, Ontario
Dr. Kaif Pardhan studied Medicine at the University of Manitoba and completed Residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Toronto. He is currently a staff emergency physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto and McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton. Additionally, he is currently the assistant program director for the Emergency Medicine Residency Training Program at the University of Toronto and the deputy chief of the Department of Emergency Services at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
Dr. Pardhan has a strong and enduring interest in medical education, fatigue risk management and medical leadership. His research is focused on: improving the number of assessments received by clinical teachers, supervision and assessment of senior trainees by physicians new to practice, how the style of assessment and feedback impacts trainee learning, and the perceived health impacts on trainees during the year of their certification examination.
Dr. Pardhan’s current and previous leadership roles have provided him with experience in organizational governance, strategic planning and change management. He has 14 years of experience on boards of directors and executive boards including provincial and national medical organizations. During this time, he has participated in the development and roll out of strategic plans at the Royal College, Resident Doctors of Canada and the Canadian Medical Association. He also has experience with search and selection processes for executives as well as consulting firms and legal counsel.
Finally, as a new in-practice physician, Dr. Pardhan will draw upon a strong history of representing his colleagues to the Royal College. This perspective will bring value as we seek to engage with new Fellows and continue to build on our success as an organization.
Sarkis Meterissian, MDCM, MSc, FRCSC, FACS
INCUMBENT Montréal, Québec
A graduate of McGill’s Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Sarkis Meterissian completed his residency in General Surgery at McGill. He then completed successive two-year Fellowships in Surgical Oncology Research in Boston and in Clinical Surgical Oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He joined McGill in 1994 and is a tenured professor of Surgery and Oncology. Dr. Meterissian was program director of General Surgical Oncology and then General Surgery for a total of 12 years. He completed two terms as associate dean of Postgraduate Medical Education. Dr. Meterissian has been director of the Breast Clinic of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) since 2006 and has been co-director of the Breast Health Advisory Board of the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation since 2012. A member of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Board of Governors since 2018, he serves on the ACS Committee on Medical Student Education and previously served on the Residency Education Committee for six years. He is also an associate member of the prestigious ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators.
Dr. Meterissian has extensive experience with the Royal College as an examiner, program director and postgraduate dean. He was a member of the Accreditation Committee for six years and chaired a number of Royal College visits across the country. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Collège des médecins du Québec for seven years and has chaired the Standing Committee of Postgrad Deans of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC). As an active surgeon and physician from Québec, Dr. Meterissian has always brought the reality of practising in Québec to Council and has worked hard to ensure that important issues are addressed in a timely and comprehensive fashion. His experience in medical education and his leadership positions have allowed him to be a productive Council member in his first term.
J. Mark Walton, MD, FRCSC
INCUMBENT Hamilton, Ontario
Dr. Mark Walton is a pediatric surgeon at McMaster Children’s Hospital and professor of pediatric surgery at the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. In July 2017, he took on the inaugural role of vice-dean of Faculty Affairs within the Faculty of Health Sciences. The Faculty Affairs Portfolio includes professionalism, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), leadership development, mentorship and wellness. He currently sits on the Faculty’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee (EDIAC) which serves to advise and recommend initiatives to advance inclusive excellence within the Faculty in alignment with strategic partners as well as the central university Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Steering Committee and Indigenous Advisory Committee. He has a special interest in postgraduate medical education and competency-based medical education (CBME). Dr. Walton was program director for the General Surgery Residency Training Program at McMaster University from 1999 to 2004 as well as postgraduate dean from 2004 to 2016. As postgraduate dean, he led a large expansion of residency programs as well as the development of postgraduate medical training on two regional campuses (Niagara and Waterloo Region). He presently chairs the Royal College’s Committee on Specialty Education and sits on the Executive Committee of Council.
Dr. Walton’s professional interests include mentoring medical educators and residents, EDI, Indigenous health, and allyship. He has chaired numerous committees related to health human resources planning such as the Canadian Post-M.D. Education Registry (CAPER) and the Ontario Physician Human Resources Data Centre (OPHRDC). In addition, he has an active clinical practice in Pediatric Surgery and is involved in the training of medical and Physician Assistant (PA) students as well as residents and fellows.
In his spare time, Dr. Walton enjoys travelling with his family and participating in a number of sports including triathlons, marathons, and hockey.
Eleanor Elstein, MD, CSPQ, FRCPC
INCUMBENT Montreal,Québec
Dr. Eleanor Elstein received her medical degree from the Université de Montréal and trained in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at McGill University. She then completed a research fellowship in Molecular Cardiology at the University of Toronto, Centre for Cardiovascular Research. While in Toronto, she also completed clinical fellowships in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and in Echocardiography. Dr. Elstein is an associate professor of Medicine at McGill University and an associate physician at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). She is director of the Cardiovascular Genetics Clinic for Inherited Cardiomyopathies and director of the cardiology consultation service at the MUHC. Her research is primarily in the area of familial cardiomyopathies.
Dr. Elstein is very involved in medical education at all levels from undergraduate medical students to postdoctoral fellows and practising physicians. She has held an Osler Fellowship granted by the McGill University Physicianship program. She is a member of the McGill Cardiology Residency Training Program Committee and the Cardiology Resident Competence Committee. Dr. Elstein is also a member of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Evaluation Committee of the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University.She is also the Undergraduate Medical Education lead and member of the Executive of the McGill Office of Interprofessional Education. Dr. Elstein serves as a member of the McGill University Senate and the Senate Nominating Committee.
Dr. Elstein has been a member of the Royal College’s Regional Advisory Committee 4 (RAC 4) since 2013 and serves as its chair since 2019. She has also been a member of the Fellowship Affairs Committee (FAC) since 2019 and has served on Council since 2017. Dr. Elstein is very interested in strengthening the roles of the Royal College in providing specialty medical education and lifelong learning and in representing medical specialists in Québec and Canada.
Marcia Clark, MD, FRCSC
INCUMBENT Calgary, Alberta
Dr. Marcia Clark is a mid-career orthopedic surgeon and clinical associate professor at the University of Calgary. Her academic interests are in Simulation Based Medical Education (SBME), national and international medical education, and the intersection of health care and technology. Her role as chief of surgery at South Health Campus hospital in Calgary has challenged her to lead through a crisis and to understand health policy, systems and administrative decision making.
Nationally, Dr. Clark sits on the Royal College’s Council and Executive Committee of Council. She contributes to many Royal College committees including serving as chair of the Regional Advisory Committee 1 and as a member of the Committee on Specialties. Dr. Clark has travelled extensively with Royal College Canada International (RCI) delivering medical education presentations to international faculty. Her most recent trips include China, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Dr. Clark hopes to continue to bring to Council a curious mind and insightful questions. She is conscious of non-conformity in groupthink when it comes to big decisions for committees. She likes to see projects through to completion. Her leadership style is collaborative, but she is not afraid of making decisions based on the information at hand in order to move forward.
Dr. Clark is a scientist with the CDL (Creative Destruction Lab)-Rockies in the Health stream. This opportunity provides mentoring to health technology startups in their development. She is also is a Fellow of the AHS (Alberta Health Services) Design Lab.
Clinically, Dr. Clark is an orthopedic surgeon with a practice focused on surgical arthritis care and sport medicine. She provides medical care to several athletic teams including Calgary’s Wolf Pack Rugby, the University of Calgary Dinos (hockey and wrestling), international speed skating, Formula 1 motor racing (Montréal) and the Canadian Alpine Ski Team.
For leisurely pursuits, Dr. Clark pursues activities that get her off concrete such as being outside in daylight, alpine skiing, snowshoeing, hiking and biking.
Geneviève Milot, MD, FRCSC
NEW Québec, Québec
Dr. Geneviève Milot is a dedicated vascular neurosurgeon in active practice and clinical professor at Université Laval’s Department of Surgery in Québec City. Throughout more than 20 years of practising medicine, she has been regularly involved with the Royal College, serving on different Examination Boards and the Specialty Committee in Neurosurgery. She has found that this involvement has added amazing dimension to many aspects of her career growth and leadership development. Dr. Milot is prepared to meet the challenges that come with being a Council member, as supported by Dr. Louis Lacombe, FRCSC, director of the Department of Surgery at Université Laval who recommended that she apply. She will devote her attention to the skills and responsibilities required to be an effective contributor.
Dr. Milot became a Neurosurgery examiner for the Royal College in 2001 and has been active on the Neurosurgery Examination Board as a member, vice-chair and chair. She reached the end of her mandate with the 2020 examinations, retiring with great pride. She has served as a member of the Specialty Committee in Neurosurgery and was closely involved with the transition to Competence by Design (CBD). Dr. Milot was also the program director for the Neurosurgery Program at Université Laval for nine years and is now chair of the Competence Committee for Surgical Foundations. Her leadership positions and interest in the development of higher medical education make her well-suited to serve as a Councillor representing the vision of the Royal College.
Pierre LeBlanc, MD, FRCPC
INCUMBENT Québec, Québec
Dr. Pierre LeBlanc received his medical degree in 1978 from Université Laval in Québec and subsequently completed his postgraduate training in Respirology in 1983, at which time he received his certification in Respirology from the Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ) and the Royal College. From 1983 to 1985, he completed a fellowship in Exercise Physiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Since 1985, Dr. LeBlanc has been practising Respirology at the University Institute of Cardiology and Respirology of Québec (Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec (IUCPQ), formerly known as Hôpital Laval). At IUCPQ, he was president of the Council of Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists (Conseils de médecins, dentistes et pharmaciens (CMDP)) and was director of University Education. Dr. LeBlanc is a Full professor at Université Laval’s Faculty of Medicine and delivered the undergraduate course in Respirology from 2000 to 2002. Dr. LeBlanc has been a member of the Undergraduate Program Committee and was also program director of Respirology. He was postgraduate dean from 2002 to 2010, and the director of the Department of Medicine from 2011 to 2017. Since 2018, he has held the position of director of Education and University Affairs at the IUCPQ.
Dr. LeBlanc was a member of the CMQ’s Board of Directors from 2002 to 2010. He has also worked with the Royal College as a member of the Residency Accreditation Committee and the Committee on Specialty Education, and has participated in several accreditation surveys. He has served on Council since 2017.
Dr. LeBlanc has contributed to 70 scientific articles, 110 abstracts for scientific presentations and 12 chapters in multi-authored publications.