Dr. James Irvine
La Ronge, Saskatchewan
2019

Dr. James Irvine grew up in a small town in a rural area of Saskatchewan, where connections and relationships within the community were valued and social responsibility was an integral part of being a physician. His desire to pursue family medicine solidified during a summer externship, during which he witnessed the benefits of having physicians provide continuous, comprehensive care not only to individuals, but also to their families.

After completing his family medicine residency through the University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Irvine received his Certification in the College of Family Physicians of Canada in 1978. In 1996 he completed a residency in public health and preventative medicine, receiving fellowship in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. In 1998 he completed a master of science degree in community health at the University of Manitoba. From 1981 to 2014 he ran a family medicine practice at the La Ronge Medical Clinic; he continues to engage in research and consult in public health and preventative medicine (PHPM), and he assists with the PHPM residency program in Saskatchewan.

A professor emeritus in the University of Saskatchewan’s Department of Academic Family Medicine, Dr. Irvine is interested in environmental health, health promotion, and chronic disease prevention. He volunteers with various provincial and national boards and committees, including the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute; the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases; the Canadian Paediatric Society’s First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Committee; and the Northern Alcohol Strategy. He cares deeply about the physician’s role in rural and remote community health, facilitating community-based research, protecting the boreal environment, participating in triathlons, and being a grandfather.