Dr. Shannon McDonald
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Dr. Shannon McDonald
Health (2025)
Manitoba Métis Federation, MB
“In Indigenous thinking, health is very holistic. And it’s a journey, and you can’t impact the physical health without thinking about one’s emotional health, one’s mental health, or one’s spiritual health. It really is about the whole person.”
From improving access to fighting the opioid epidemic to tackling anti-Indigenous racism in healthcare, Dr. Shannon McDonald has made Indigenous wellness her guiding goal. After graduating from the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Medicine in 1998, she completed postgraduate training in community medicine and psychiatry. She has worked for over 20 years in Indigenous health, with broad experience at multiple levels of healthcare service delivery and administration in both provincial and federal contexts.
Before joining BC’s First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) in 2015 as the Senior Medical Officer for Vancouver Island and then as Chief Medical Officer, she served for five years as the Executive Director of Aboriginal Health at the BC Ministry of Health.
Dr. McDonald has led transformative change, including implementation of information and communications technologies. She was awarded BC’s Physician Champions of Change Award by the Doctors of BC for her leadership and advocacy for physician services in BC’s rural and remote First Nations communities. She has also been recognized for effectively representing the needs and interests of Indigenous individuals, families and communities in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
Although she has now retired from her Ministry role, Dr. McDonald continues her important work as the first Indigenous physician appointed to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia’s (CPSBC) Board of Directors.
