$10M donation will help build new veterinary medicine facility at Lakehead University

A new veterinary medicine program, partially based at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, has taken a big step forward thanks to a major donation.

Kim and Stu Lang, philanthropists based in the Guelph area, have donated $10 million through their Angel Gabriel Foundation. The donation will help fund the construction of an animal medicine facility on Lakehead's Thunder Bay campus, the university announced on Thursday.

The facility will be used for the Collaborative Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program, which is a joint venture between Lakehead and the University of Guelph.

Kim Lang said she's always had an interest in animal welfare.

"I've been a lifelong animal lover and had dogs, cats, horses over most of my life ... many of which were rescued," she said.

And, Kim Lang added, the veterinarian shortage in northern Ontario is a "crucial" issue. She and Stu Lang fund the Community Healthcare Partnership Program (CHPP) at the University of Guleph's Ontario Veterinary College (OVC).

The CHPP program works to remove barriers to healthcare for companion animals in under-resourced and vulnerable communities.

"They do go up into Indigenous communities and take care of animals up there," Kim Lang said. "One of them is just about three hours north of Thunder Bay, so I thought this was a great place to start because there is such a shortage of vets."

Stu Lang said the couple was excited to hear that OVC was talking with Lakehead about collaborating on a veterinary program.

"We came to realize that most universities that have a medical school also have a veterinarian school," he said. "So the partnership, in basic, is to have the students have the first two years at Lakehead ... and then coming to OVC which has all the surgical rooms to learn sort of the practice."

"It's a great combination."

Representatives of Lakehead University were not available for interviews on Thursday.  But in a release Gillian Siddall, university president and vice-chancellor, said the university was "deeply grateful" for the donation, which is the largest in the university's history. 

"When faced with a large-scale crisis like northern Ontario's veterinarian shortage, we must be innovative when seeking solutions," Siddall said. "Kim and Stu Lang are visionaries — the innovative nature of this collaborative, solutions-based approach between Lakehead and Guelph universities spoke to their interests and values."

The animal education facility will be built on Lakehead's Thunder Bay campus, with construction expected to start this summer.

Lakehead also announced on Thursday that the faciilty would be named Gakina Awesiinyag, which is from the Anishinaabemowin language and translates to "all animals (place for).

The four-year Collaborative Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program will begin this fall in Guelph. In 2027, students will be able to attend courses at the Lakehead campus in Thunder Bay when the building is complete.