About

Medical education in Cape Breton

The Cape Breton Medical Campus (CBMC) admits 30 Nova Scotia students each year, providing an opportunity for students to study in their home province. The CBMC is located in Cape Breton University’s new medical sciences building. Adjacent to the CBU campus, the CBMC offers students with a unique opportunity to be part of the CBU community, while remaining connected with their Dalhousie Medicine classmates across three campuses.  

With a five-year return of service to family medicine, CBMC students will support family medicine across rural Nova Scotia upon completion of their studies. 

This transformational initiative was made possible with the support of the Province of Nova Scotia. On January 27, 2023 as part of his State of the Province address here in Cape Breton, Premier Tim Houston announced the medical campus would become a reality. On March 7, 2023, the Premier again travelled to Cape Breton and announced a $58.9 million investment in the medical campus.  Of that amount, $49 million is for the creation of a medical sciences centre, $6.2 million will create a 10,000 patient Collaborative Clinic and $3.7 million will expand the Health and Counselling Centre at CBU.

Collaborative campus

The CBMC is built on a partnership between Cape Breton University and Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine. The partnership is outlined in a formal agreement, which guides the operation of the CBMC. The partnership demonstrates a shared interest in enhancing medical education opportunities in Nova Scotia, which will benefit the future of healthcare in the province. 

Connected campus

CBMC students, while are located in Cape Breton, are connected to classmates in Halifax and New Brunswick, using state-of-the-art videoconferencing technology. This provides the exact same curriculum across campuses, with everyone working toward a medical degree from Dalhousie University.

A rural pathway

The CBMC provides a rural pathway for applicants, which includes a commitment to practice family medicine in rural Nova Scotia through a five-year return of service agreement. As they prepare to fulfill this commitment, the students will have an opportunity to gain mentorship from clinicians who practice in rural areas across the province.  

Click here to learn more about applying for admission to the Cape Breton Medical Campus