Dr. Natalie Aubin Appointed CEO of Ontario’s New French Language Health Planning Centre
Ottawa, September 4, 2025 — Dr. Natalie Aubin has been appointed by the Board of Directors of the French Language Health Planning Centre as its inaugural Chief Executive Officer, effective November 3, 2025. A proud Franco-Ontarian born in Elliot Lake and raised in Sudbury, Dr. Aubin brings 20 years of experience in acute care, public health, social services and postsecondary education, including 17 years in leadership roles.
Announced by the Government of Ontario in June 2025, the Centre, which is operational since September 1st, is mandated to modernize and improve health-care services and outcomes for francophones. It will have oversight of planning, policies, programs, funding and resource decisions. The Centre was co-created by the Assemblée de la Francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO) and Hôpital Montfort, is governed by an independent Board and has 31 employees located in each of the six regions of Ontario Health.
With this appointment, Dr. Aubin also joins the Senior Leadership Team at Hôpital Montfort, Ontario’s Francophone Academic Hospital, as Vice-President. She will fulfill her role from Sudbury, reflecting the Centre’s commitment to a decentralized model of leadership and community engagement.
Dr. Aubin currently serves as Regional Vice-President, Cancer Care for Northeastern Ontario at Ontario Health, Vice-President, Social Accountability at Health Sciences North (HSN) and Advisor at the HSN Research Institute in Sudbury, where she leads a team of more than 1,000 professionals and oversees a $125 million portfolio. She previously served for 10 years as Administrative Director of the Cancer Centre, and then of the Mental Health and Addictions program at HSN, prior to her appointment as Vice-President in 2022.
Dr. Aubin has led transformative initiatives in mental health and addictions, cancer care, child and maternal health, Indigenous health, and French-language services.
Her appointment follows a rigorous national search led by Boyden, which included extensive consultations with community stakeholders and senior leaders across the Ontario Public Service and Ontario Health.
Regional Director Oureye Seck will serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Centre from September 1 to November 2, 2025.
Quotes
“I am honoured to serve Francophone communities across Ontario in this new role. The Centre represents a bold step forward in ensuring equitable access to high-quality health services in French. I look forward to working with our partners to build a more inclusive and responsive health system.”
— Dr. Natalie Aubin, inaugural Chief Executive Officer, French Language Health Planning Centre
“Dr. Aubin is widely recognized for her outstanding interpersonal skills, her great intellectual capacity, her innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, and her ability to rally community and sector partners. We are thrilled to have recruited such talent as inaugural CEO of the Centre”
— Lise Bourgeois, Board Chair, French Language Health Planning Centre
“Our government is proud to take action to make it easier for the more than 650,000 francophones and 1.5 million bilingual people living in Ontario to connect to fast and convenient care, where and when they need it. I am pleased to welcome Dr. Aubin in her role as CEO of the French Language Health Planning Centre and look forward to working collaboratively to strengthen French language health service planning and increase access to health-care services for francophones across the province, for years to come.”
— Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health
“Dr. Aubin’s appointment marks a significant step forward in expanding French-language health services in the province. As a leader, she brings the vision and skillset required to build a more accessible health care system that better reflects the realities of Ontario’s Francophone communities. As we work to protect Ontario, our government is committed to working collaboratively with our partners to ensure Franco-Ontarians receive the high-quality care they deserve, in the language of their choice.”
— Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Francophone Affairs
Biographical Notes
As Vice-President at HSN, Dr. Aubin leads the Northeast Regional Cancer Program, Mental Health and Addictions, the Northeastern Ontario (NEO) Kids, Family and Women’s+ Program, Inter-Professional Practice, Indigenous Health, Ethics, Religious and Spiritual Care, French-Language Services and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
In the last 13 years, Dr. Aubin supported the implementation of many priority initiatives such as cancer system Quality Based Procedures, the first Virtual Psychiatry Program for rural hospitals in the Northeast, the Northern Outreach Program with Weeneebayko Area Health Authority, a Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinic, an Addiction Medicine Consult Service, a new 40-beds community-based transitional housing program for individuals with substance use disorders and mental health conditions, and a new 20-beds Addiction Medicine Unit recognized as a leading practice by the Health Standards Organization and Accreditation Canada. HSN was also selected as one of 10 Network Lead Organizations for the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy Program. Under her leadership, HSN met all criteria for designation under the French Language Services Act.
Dr. Aubin began her career as a Counsellor for Children and Youth at the Centre de santé communautaire Hamilton/Niagara and has held management roles at Collège Boréal, Public Health Sudbury & Districts, and the Children’s Aid Society Nipissing & Parry Sound. She has also worked as a part-time college professor and program consultant in the private sector.
Dr. Aubin holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a Master’s in Human Development, and a PhD in Human Studies from Laurentian University. A former student and researcher with the Institut franco-ontarien, she is an alumna of the Northern Leadership Development Program and has completed certificates in Health of Official Language Minority Communities, Healthcare Improvement, and Mental Health Law. She is currently enrolled in the Propel Program at the Proximity Institute.
She serves as Adjunct Professor in Rural and Northern Health at Laurentian University and has advanced knowledge on French-language health human resource planning, seniors’ healthy aging, and lifelong learning. She has supervised graduate students, authored or co-authored 14 publications, presented her work in Canada and internationally, and is a co-investigator funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.
She brings extensive governance experience, including with the North East Community Care Access Centre, Réseau du mieux-être francophone du Nord de l’Ontario, Maison McCulloch Hospice, Addictions and Mental Health Ontario, and the Association of General Hospital Psychiatric Services. She is currently a Board member at Collège Boréal.
Dr. Aubin is actively involved in provincial advisory bodies, including AFO’s Health Advisory Committee, Ontario Health’s System Advisory Table, Ontario Health’s Cancer Care Provincial Leadership Council, and the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence Executive Oversight Council. She served on the Ontario Children’s Response and Recovery Table, the Northeast Mental Health and Addictions Advisory Council, the Northeast Regional Palliative Care Network, Sudbury’s Community, Safety and Well-Being Advisory Circle and Mental Health and Addictions Priority Action Table. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she co-chaired Northern Ontario’s Mental Health and Addictions Recovery Advisory Table, mobilizing efforts of 35 organizations.
Background Information
At least twice per year, Dr. Aubin will meet with a number of Ontario Deputy Ministers including from the ministries of Health, Long-Term Care and Francophone Affairs, the President and CEO of Ontario Health, the President and CEO of Montfort and the Executive Director of AFO, to assess progress with regards to Francophone health in Ontario and determine next steps.
For more information about the French Language Health Planning Centre: cpssf.ca