Ottawa, ON
As a leader in Canadian health care, Dr. Hartley Stern, MD, FRCS, FACS, ICD.D has held positions in universities, cancer systems and hospital systems throughout Ontario and Quebec, with a distinct focus on improving health care quality and safety.
His medical career began with undergraduate education and surgical training at the University of Toronto, followed by a Research Training Fellowship at the London Hospital Medical College in London, England. In 1994, he became Surgeon-in-Chief at the Ottawa Civic Hospital and later, through its amalgamation, The Ottawa Hospital. Concurrently, he served as Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Ottawa. In 2000, he joined Ottawa Regional Cancer Centre as its Chief Executive Officer, a position he held for seven years before joining Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital as its Chief Executive. Most recently, Dr. Stern was the CEO of the Canadian Medical Protective Association until March 2020.
Dr. Stern has extensive experience on local, national and international Boards of Directors including the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation, the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, the Medical Professional Liability Association and Equinoxe Virtual Care. He has led capital fundraising initiatives and development campaigns including the building of a $150 million new cancer centre in Ottawa and a $400 million hospital critical care tower in Montreal.
His long-standing commitment to giving back to his communities is personal, stemming from his family’s history of overcoming adversity and recognizing opportunity.
“My mother was a Dutch Jew who survived WWII in hiding for three years in a single room with her parents and five brothers. My father was a member of the Canadian forces which liberated Holland and my mother’s family. Canada gave my family an opportunity to realize our dreams,” he says.
“From the time I was a small child, my mother inspired me: to give back something meaningful to this country; to rail against any injustices to individuals inflicted solely because they were different; and to not settle for anything less than excellence. The opportunity to support the Canadian Paralympic Movement by serving on the Foundation Board of Directors, allows me to honour my mother’s wishes and gives me and my children a source of great pride that I am helping extraordinary athletes realize their dreams and be in turn an inspiration to all Canadians.”
