Fifty years of the Canadian Field Epidemiology Program (1975-2025): Reflecting on the past, shaping the future.

Abstract

Since 1975, the Canadian Field Epidemiology Program (CFEP) has strengthened Canada's public health capacity by training field epidemiologists through a two-year, service-oriented model that integrates formal learning with field placements and mentorship. Established at the request of the provinces and territories and modelled after the United States' Epidemic Intelligence Service, CFEP has evolved into a nationally distributed surge and analytic capability embedded across jurisdictions. Over five decades, trainees and alumni have supported outbreak and emergency response, strengthened surveillance systems, and produced applied evidence that has informed control measures and policy, spanning foodborne and environmental events, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), H1N1, COVID-19, and emerging One Health threats. The CFEP's impact also reflects deliberate workforce development through structured mentorship, cohort-based learning, and alumni networks that extend expertise across federal, provincial, territorial, academic, and international settings. As public health risks grow more complex due to climate-related hazards, rapid digital change, and challenges to trust, this commentary argues that CFEP must remain adaptive, deepen cross-sector partnerships, and embed equity, reconciliation, and systems thinking to sustain Canada's health security over the next 50 years.