UM community mourns loss of Dr. John Wade, medicine dean emeritus
Dr. Peter Nickerson, dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences and dean, Max Rady College of Medicine, and the entire UM medical community are saddened to learn of the passing of a dear colleague, John Wade [MD/60], on July 17, 2025 at age 91.
Sincere condolences are extended to his wife Marilyn Wade and family.
Dr. John Wade (front row, centre) with former classmates from the Medicine Class of 1960.
Wade was a proud University of Manitoba alumnus, dean emeritus, professor emeritus, anesthesiologist, patient safety advocate, medical educator and leader over his distinguished career.
He was chair of the UM department of anesthesiology from 1969 to 1979 and then served as dean of medicine from 1982 to 1988.
In the 2008 Voices book commemorating the Faculty of Medicine’s 125th anniversary, Wade recounted: “At the beginning of my deanship, I was convinced that the medical school had a social responsibility and a social contract. It had a strong connection to the province and the people that funded it. Therefore, I believed we should be responsive to the people of Manitoba, not just to ourselves.”
During his tenure as dean of medicine, Wade was instrumental in starting the Access program for recruitment of Indigenous students into medicine, believed UM was the first medical school in the country to do so, and that it was the socially responsible action to take.
Another priority of Wade’s was training a new generation of students differently. He instituted small-group teaching and problem-based learning, as well as comprehensive clinical evaluation in addition to written exams. As well, the residency program shifted into postgraduate medical education, rather than an apprenticeship program.
In 1985, Wade merged the social preventative medicine area with the Northern Medical Unit, creating the new department of community health sciences. He also expanded partnerships with affiliates like hospital-based research institutes to grow the faculty’s research enterprise, including working collaboratively with St. Boniface Hospital to create a joint vibrant cardiac sciences research group.
Additionally, under Wade, the faculty began a fundraising program to create what is now the Brodie Centre and the Neil John Maclean Health Sciences Library. He also advocated for the government to establish the Manitoba Health Research Council, with $2 million in research funding to start.
From 1992 to 1994, Wade chaired the Health and Public Policy Committee for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, which developed the CanMEDS proposal – a physician competency framework to identify the abilities required to effectively meet the health-care needs of patients. The proposal was accepted by the Royal College in 1996, and the CanMEDS model has now been adapted around the world.
Wade served as deputy minister of health in Manitoba under Premier Gary Filmon. He also played a pivotal role in the reorganization of the health-care system, and later served as chair of the board of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
Wade chaired the Steering Committee for Canadian Patient Safety, which produced a report that in 2003 led to the establishment of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, and Wade’s appointment as founding board chair. He was also founder of the Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety in 2004.
In 2019, Wade was awarded the Order of Canada, with his citation acknowledging his significant contributions to medical education and practice in Canada: “He has held varied and distinguished leadership roles in medicine, academia and government throughout a career spanning more than 50 years.
“An anesthesiologist by training and practice, he has advocated for increased focus on patient safety and quality improvement in health care in both the academic and professional realms. Notably, he was the founding chair of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute.”