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Historical Overview

Historical Overview

The Canadian Society of Physician Executives (CSPE), now known as the Canadian Society of Physician Leaders (CSPL), was founded in 1998 and incorporated in 2000 by Dr. Chris Carruthers (Ontario) and co-founder Dr. Dennis Kendel (Saskatchewan), along with six other physicians and one Canadian Medical Association (CMA) Director. From 2002 to 2015, CSPL’s office was located at CMA House in Ottawa. During this period, the CSPL established a formal Memorandum of Agreement with the CMA and achieved CMA affiliate status in 2002.

In 2015, the CSPL underwent significant changes, including relocating, becoming a fully independent organization, and changing its name from the Canadian Society of Physician Executives (CSPE) to the Canadian Society of Physician Leaders (CSPL). Currently, the CSPL employs two staff members: an Executive Director and a Program Manager, who works on a part-time basis. Despite being a relatively small organization with around 600 members, CSPL continues to offer valuable benefits to its members, including the Canadian Journal of Physician Leadership, biweekly e-newsletter, highly-rated annual conference, the Canadian Certified Physician Executive (CCPE) designation program, podcast series, mentorship program, physician leadership coaching website, and job opportunity postings.