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

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 20, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

A caller veterinary medicine program, partially based astatine Lakehead University successful Thunder Bay, has taken a large measurement guardant acknowledgment to a large donation.

Kim and Stu Lang, philanthropists based successful the Guelph area, have donated $10 cardinal done their Angel Gabriel Foundation. The donation volition assistance money the operation of an carnal medicine installation connected Lakehead's Thunder Bay campus, the assemblage announced connected Thursday.

The installation volition beryllium utilized for the Collaborative Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program, which is simply a associated task betwixt Lakehead and the University of Guelph.

Kim Lang said she's ever had an involvement successful carnal welfare.

"I've been a lifelong carnal person and had dogs, cats, horses implicit astir of my beingness ... galore of which were rescued," she said.

And, Kim Lang added, the veterinarian shortage successful bluish Ontario is simply a "crucial" issue. She and Stu Lang money the Community Healthcare Partnership Program (CHPP) astatine the University of Guleph's Ontario Veterinary College (OVC).

The CHPP programme works to region barriers to healthcare for companion animals successful under-resourced and susceptible communities.

"They bash spell up into Indigenous communities and instrumentality attraction of animals up there," Kim Lang said. "One of them is conscionable astir three hours northbound of Thunder Bay, truthful I thought this was a large spot to commencement due to the fact that determination is specified a shortage of vets."

Stu Lang said the mates was excited to perceive that OVC was talking with Lakehead astir collaborating connected a veterinary program.

"We came to recognize that astir universities that person a aesculapian schoolhouse besides person a veterinarian school," helium said. "So the partnership, successful basic, is to person the students person the archetypal 2 years astatine Lakehead ... and past coming to OVC which has each the surgical rooms to larn benignant of the practice."

"It's a large combination."

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

"When faced with a large-scale situation similar bluish Ontario's veterinarian shortage, we indispensable beryllium innovative erstwhile seeking solutions," Siddall said. "Kim and Stu Lang are visionaries — the innovative quality of this collaborative, solutions-based attack betwixt Lakehead and Guelph universities spoke to their interests and values."

The carnal acquisition installation volition beryllium built connected Lakehead's Thunder Bay campus, with operation expected to commencement this summer.

Lakehead besides announced connected Thursday that the faciilty would beryllium named Gakina Awesiinyag, which is from the Anishinaabemowin connection and translates to "all animals (place for).

The four-year Collaborative Doctor of Veterinary Medicine programme volition statesman this autumn successful Guelph. In 2027, students volition beryllium capable to be courses astatine the Lakehead field successful Thunder Bay erstwhile the gathering is complete.