B.C. entrepreneurs donate $40 million to Simon Fraser University medical school

SURREY — British Columbia’s premier says a $40-million donation from two entrepreneurs to Simon Fraser University’s school of medicine comes at a critical moment as the province struggles with a shortage of health care workers.

University president Joy Johnson says the donation from Ratana and Arran Stephens is the largest in the university’s history and will support training and research opportunities, with the goal of delivering care to urban, rural and Indigenous communities.

The new school in Surrey campus will be called the “SFU Stephens Family School of Medicine” in honour of the Stephens, who founded the organic food company Nature’s Path in Vancouver.

Premier David Eby says that while B.C. is competing to recruit health care workers from outside the province, it’s not a sustainable approach, and there needs to be a focus on training future workers in B.C. medical schools.