joined by
Charles Best in office, 1924 The University of King's College Medical School, the precursor to the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine opened in 1843. The University of Toronto itself formed in 1849 following the passage of the Baldwin Act which removed the university from the control of the
Anglican Church. In 1853, the
United Provinces of Canada legislature, on the ostensible grounds of public sentiment, opposed state aid for the profession of medicine and abolished the medical school at the University of Toronto. As a consequence of the Hincks University Bill, the University of Toronto was reduced to only having a supervisory role in medical education being responsible for administering examinations and conferring degrees. The decision on the part of the legislature opened the way for private medical schools called
proprietary schools to develop in Toronto. In 1850, the
Upper Canada School of Medicine formed. In 1851, this school became the medical faculty of the University of
Trinity College. Trinity closed in 1856 and was reopened in 1871.
John Rolph opened a school in 1843 which was renamed the Toronto School of Medicine in 1851. This would later become the Victoria University of Medicine in 1854. The Victoria School of Medicine would collapse in 1874 and students would go to the new Toronto School of Medicine. This version of the Toronto School of Medicine was re-opened by professors in 1856 without John Rolph and became affiliated with the University of Toronto. The Women's Medical College was founded 1 October 1883. It was affiliated with Trinity Medical College. In 1890, the institution moved and became connected with the University of Toronto with students being able to write exams at either institution. Under the provisions of the bill of 1853, the University of Toronto was responsible for licensing the medical graduates of these colleges. The University of Toronto would administer examinations and confer a
Bachelor of Medicine degree to those who proved competent. The two main proprietary schools that educated future physicians were the Toronto School of Medicine and the Trinity School of Medicine. Both schools were successful and were able to expand their facilities and attract more students. However, a point of criticism from detractors was that these schools were not able to provide a proper education in the sciences. Science was at the forefront of the change in universities' pedagogic shift to centres of research and knowledge dissemination. Laboratories and experiments were integral to this shift, and the expense associated with providing for these in a medical education was not something that the proprietary schools could bear. In 1868, the government of Ontario cut off grants to medical schools. Reliant solely on tuition fees, the schools could not provide the necessary resources needed for the increasing focus on science. In 1878, the University of Toronto Senate set more demanding standards for their examinations, which led to a decline in students seeking their degrees at the university. In 1883, only ten students passed the exams. The University Federation Act of 1887 brought the medical faculty back to life. The Toronto School of Medicine amalgamated with University of Toronto to form the Faculty of Medicine. While initially reticent, the Toronto School of Medicine was not able to offer the same level of scientific education and research abilities as the University of Toronto. Once the Toronto School of Medicine was absorbed, its buildings were used by the University of Toronto, and the Faculty of Medicine was established with 29 members from both institutions. Under William Thomas Aikins, the Dean of the re-founded faculty from 1887 to 1893, rapid changes in education resulted in science being taught and new technologies being used in the education of medical students. In 1889, the University of Toronto built a new biology building with it to also serve in the teaching of medicine. An 1891 expansion led to the top floor being used for the dissection of
cadavers. Lectures were given in this building while clinical work was done at the
Toronto General Hospital. The Toronto General Hospital also featured laboratory facilities available to the medical students. Trinity School of Medicine became Trinity Medical College in 1888. While successful, with laboratories and varied teaching facilities, the importance of research and inability for it to compete made its position untenable. In 1902, Trinity began discussions to be absorbed in the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. Talks were completed in July 1903 when the charter of the medical college was surrendered to Toronto. At this time, a new medical building was constructed at the University of Toronto called the New Laboratories building that included laboratories with removable partitions to increase and decrease class sizes. When completed in 1904, a celebration was held to mark the occasion and the amalgamation of the University of Toronto and Trinity College. The Women's Medical College was not included in the plans and continued as a separate institution. Following the report of the Royal Commission on the University the Women's Medical College was absorbed into the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. The 1910 Flexner Report on the state of medical education in the United States and Canada, which led to the closures of many medical schools across the continent, nonetheless singled out a select few medical schools for praise, among them Toronto's Faculty of Medicine. Flexner praised the "high quality of instruction" offered at Toronto and noted that its equipment was "among the best on the continent”. In 2020,
James and Louise Temerty donated $250 million to the faculty, which U of T called the largest donation ever to a Canadian university. The faculty of medicine was named the Temerty Faculty of Medicine in their honour. ==Academic units==