CMA Presidency

• How is the CMA president selected?
• Current election timeline
• Determine if you are eligible
• Submit your nomination documents
• Participate in the all-candidates teleconference
• Participate in the election campaign
• Presidential rotation

How is the CMA president selected?

The CMA presidency is rotated alphabetically among the provinces and territories (excluding Nunavut). Candidates for the position of CMA president-elect may be nominated in two different ways:

• Each fall, a call for nominations for the president-elect nominee position is issued by the CMA to members in the respective province or territory. Those members will present a nominee, whom they have chosen through an election, at the CMA General Council meeting to become CMA president-elect. If their choice is ratified, that person will become CMA president in the subsequent association year.
• Alternatively, in accordance with CMA’s current bylaws, (CMA Bylaw 12.3.4), a candidate from the respective province or territory may be nominated by any 50 CMA members; the nomination must be received at least five months before the CMA’s Annual General Meeting (currently held in mid-August).

Current election timeline

Determine if you are eligible

To be eligible to be presented for election as CMA president-elect, individuals must:

• be a member of the medical profession;
• be a member in good standing of the CMA and their provincial/territorial medical association;
• have been a member of the CMA for the preceding five consecutive years;
• have a registered mailing address in the respective province or territory;
• agree to stand as a candidate; and
• not be a voting director or sitting president of a provincial/territorial medical association or affiliate society.

The position of CMA president-elect may be of interest to individuals who:

• are currently practising medicine in the respective province or territory;
• demonstrate interest in the organization of medical care and medical practice;
• possess experience with the physician/community/government interface; and
• are recognized as leaders by their peers.

Candidates should be willing to devote the necessary amount of time to this role, specifically:

• three consecutive years on the CMA Board of Directors, first as CMA president-elect, then as CMA president and lastly as CMA past president;
• at least 200 to 220 days working on CMA activities during their year as CMA president.

Click here for more details on the president’s role.

Conflict of interest

Candidates for the position of CMA president-elect are asked to consider — in advance — potential conflicting responsibilities should they assume the role of CMA president-elect. They may wish to consider the CMA Board of Directors’ Conflict of Interest Guidelines, which are available upon request by emailing nominations@cma.ca.

Commitment to equity and diversity

It is important that the CMA has leadership that reflects the diversity of the medical profession and the communities we serve to ensure a wide range of experiences, perspectives and skills to provide better solutions, drive innovation and creativity, and enhance decision-making. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and experiences.

Submit your nomination documents

Interested individuals will be asked to submit the following documents:

• a completed nomination form;
• a one-page message of intention using the template provided;
• a one-page bio using the template provided; and
• a completed skills and diversity questionnaire to identify and highlight their key skills and strengths for the presidency role.

Please note: Each candidate’s message of intention, bio and self-assessment questionnaire will be made available on cma.ca. The CMA reserves the right to edit these documents as needed for length, prior to posting them.

Participate in the all-candidates teleconference

Candidates who submit an application by the deadline will be contacted by the CMA to participate in an all-candidates teleconference meeting with the immediate CMA past president and staff in early January. It will cover topics such as the role of the CMA president-elect, the CMA’s strategic direction and the elections process and guidelines.

Participate in the election campaign

• Candidates may begin campaigning once the call for nominations closes and are asked to abide by the campaign guidelines.
• An invitation to vote will be emailed to CMA members in the respective province or territory in February.
• An election period will be established when there are two or more candidates. Voting is conducted electronically by preferential ranked choice ballot, which means that each voter is asked to rank the candidates in order of preference. The voter is not required to rank all candidates.
• Voting will take place via a third-party secure voting site.
• When the voting closes, ballots are tabulated by the third-party election provider to ensure accuracy and compliance with accepted electoral processes. After the president-elect nominee is identified, there is a third-party audit of the elections within 15 business days of the election.
• The results of the election will be declared shortly thereafter.

Presidential rotation

British Columbia	Election: 2022 Term: 2023–2024*
Manitoba	Election: 2023  Term: 2024–2025*
New Brunswick	Election: 2024   Term: 2025–2026
Newfoundland and Labrador	Election: 2025   Term: 2026–2027
Northwest Territories	Election: 2026 Term: 2027–2028
Nova Scotia	Election: 2027 Term: 2028–2029
Ontario	Election: 2028 Term: 2029–2030
Prince Edward Island	Election: 2029 Term: 2030–2031
Quebec	Election: 2030 Term: 2031–2032
Saskatchewan	Election: 2031 Term: 2032–2033
Yukon	Election: 2032 Term: 2033–2034

* Due to a change in the date of the Annual General Meeting from August to May in the 2023–24 association year, the terms of the 2023–2024 president from British Columbia and the 2024–2025 president from Manitoba will overlap by three months. They will each serve nine months exclusively as president and for three months as co-presidents for the period of May to August 2024.

Should you require additional information, please contact nominations@cma.ca.