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Dr. Brent Young is a 2026 recipient of the Dr. Thomas Dignan Indigenous Health Award, which recognizes individuals who advance Indigenous rights and health outcomes while promoting cultural safety and respect for Indigenous knowledge. 

For many Indigenous patients, the greatest barrier to health care is not a lack of medical knowledge or treatment options – it is the legacy of mistrust created by generations of colonial policies and discrimination within the health system. 

Brent Young, MD, MSc, CCFP, has dedicated his career to changing that reality by helping to build health services and medical education systems grounded in Indigenous leadership, cultural safety and community partnership. 

An Anishinaabe family physician based in Nova Scotia, Dr. Young combines clinical care, academic leadership and national advocacy to advance Indigenous self-determination in health care. His work spans community clinics, university classrooms and national policy discussions, all focused on improving health outcomes for Indigenous Peoples in Canada. 

Creating culturally safe care

One of the clearest examples of Dr. Young’s work can be found in Halifax at the Wije’winen Health Centre. As clinical lead, he helped establish the centre — the first urban Indigenous health centre in Nova Scotia — in partnership with the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre and Dalhousie University.  

The clinic was created to address a long-standing gap in the health system. Many Indigenous patients living in urban areas face barriers to accessing mainstream services and can encounter discrimination or cultural misunderstandings when seeking care. 

At Wije’winen, the approach is different. Dr. Young and his colleagues emphasize culturally safe, community-driven care, incorporating Indigenous perspectives alongside Western medicine in what he describes as a “two-eyed seeing” approach. The goal is to ensure that Indigenous patients feel respected, heard and safe when accessing health services.  

For many patients, the impact has been profound. Community members who once avoided health care systems are now seeking care in an environment built around trust and belonging. 

Transforming medical education

While improving clinical services is one part of Dr. Young’s work, another focus lies in reshaping how future physicians are trained. 

As academic director of Indigenous health at Dalhousie University, he leads initiatives to ensure that medical education reflects Indigenous perspectives and responds to the needs of Indigenous communities. One of his most significant contributions has been the development of Dalhousie’s Indigenous Admissions Pathway, which removes longstanding barriers that have limited Indigenous representation in medical schools.  

Since its introduction, the pathway has welcomed multiple cohorts of Indigenous medical students, helping build a new generation of physicians who bring lived experience and community knowledge into the profession. 

Dr. Young has also contributed to broader curriculum reform and policy development, ensuring that issues such as anti-Indigenous racism, cultural safety and social determinants of health are meaningfully integrated into medical training.

Confronting systemic racism

Dr. Young’s leadership extends beyond individual programs to national conversations about systemic racism in health care and medical education. 

He has chaired initiatives such as the Understanding Our Roots Task Force on Settler Misappropriation of Indigenous Identity and co-chaired the Anti-Racism Working Group for the National Consortium for Indigenous Medical Education. These efforts have produced reports, frameworks and policy guidance designed to help institutions identify and address anti-Indigenous racism within health systems.  

At the same time, he contributes to numerous national organizations working to advance Indigenous health, including leadership roles with the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada and advisory work with medical education bodies across the country. 

Creating pathways for the future

Across clinical practice, education and policy leadership, Dr. Young’s work reflects a broader vision: a health system in which Indigenous communities shape the care they receive. 

By building culturally grounded care models, opening pathways for Indigenous medical students and advancing national discussions about equity in health care, he is helping transform both how medicine is practised and who has the opportunity to lead it. 

For Indigenous patients, students and communities, that transformation is already beginning to take shape. 

Read more about the Royal College’s 2026 award recipients and Honorary Fellows.