Dr. Alika Lafontaine is the first Indigenous President of the Canadian Medical Association. He is also the youngest person to hold that position. And he is from Saskatchewan.
“Growing up in Saskatchewan was a great place to find myself,” he told CTV News.
Lafontaine, who has mixed ancestry that includes Métis, Cree, Anishinaabe and Pacific Islander, grew up in Regina with his four siblings.
“My parents still live in the same place that we grew up in.”
He has credited people in his life for his success, including teachers from his high school and professors from both the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina.
“I was very lucky, in my time at University of Regina, and then on to the University of Saskatchewan to meet a variety of mentors that really looked at me as something more than what I looked at for myself,” he said.
“I'd say all those people, they really carried me on my shoulders while I was trying to find myself. So I am at where I am, because I stood on the shoulders of giants in my life, and I'm just really lucky. But that's probably no surprise that's how Saskatchewan is.”
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Lafontaine said he applied to a few different medical schools, including the University of Saskatchewan.
“When I apply to medical school, I didn't have high expectations that I'd actually get in.”
He was offered a spot in the schools he applied to, but decided to stay close to home.
“I decided to go to Saskatoon because it was somewhere that was near my family. It was somewhere where I could still visit my parents on the weekend. And for someone who had never really lived away from home, before that, it was a pretty big step, you know, moving over to Saskatoon and experiencing things in the way that you do as a university student.
“I was actually the only Indigenous person in all four years of medical school,” he said.
“That was a double-edged sword. It was lonely being by myself, but it also provided me the opportunity to connect with different folks within the college. And to see the growth and community that was built.”
PLANS FOR CMA
Lafontaine was elected into the presidential role in August and it’s a position he will hold for the next year. Overseeing 68,000 other physicians and trainees.
“We're in the midst of converging crises in healthcare right now,” he said. “I think for the average patient who goes through the healthcare system, it's very clear that it's under a lot of stress. And in some places, it's clear that the system has started to collapse to some degree.”
He said his role as the head of the CMA would be to encourage Canadians to get through the tough times.
“Our system survived subsequent waves of COVID and the stresses that run on the system,” Lafontaine said. “We've survived other ups and downs with health, human resources, and shortages. If we make different decisions, and we rank different priorities than we have in previous years, I'm very hopeful that we can actually find our way out of this.
“A big part of it is going to be, citizens and patients actually becoming involved in the discussion.”
Lafontaine has worked hard on enhancing healthcare for the Canadian Indigenous population. He’s also received several accolades for his work, including being named on Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 list in 2021, and the CMA Award for Political Advocacy in 2019.
“One of the amazing parts of being the first in something is that you have the chance to really clear a path for people that come after you. And I, I do appreciate a lot of the sentiment that that comes towards my role at the Canadian Medical Association, and, you know, being the first indigenous president, but the more important question is, how do I make sure that other indigenous youth, other indigenous physicians feel like they can fill these positions,” he said.
“Anytime that you get someone in a position where they maybe didn't have it before, there's an opportunity to have a whole other conversation about who should actually fill that position. And I, I think that's really helpful, especially for indigenous youth.”
