Karandeep Sonu Gaind

Dr. Karandeep Sonu Gaind is a Professor and Governor at the University of Toronto and Chief of Psychiatry at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He was formerly Chief of Psychiatry and physician chair of the MAiD team at Humber River Hospital, and prior to Humber River Hospital he worked as a psycho-oncology consultant at Princess Margaret Hospital for nearly a decade and a half.

Dr. Gaind is an Honorary Member of the World Psychiatric Association, President of the Ontario District Branch of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and a Distinguished Fellow of the APA, an Executive Member and Medical Practice & Tariff Chair of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) Section on Psychiatry and Chair of the OMA Relativity Advisory Committee, a Past-President of both the Ontario Psychiatric Association and PAIRO, and a past President and Distinguished Fellow (but no longer a member) of the Canadian Psychiatric Association. He represented Canada internationally from 2017 to 2020 on the Board of the World Psychiatric Association (and much more distantly in high school represented the country on Canada’s two first International Physics Olympiad teams!).

Dr. Gaind has been actively involved in health policy development and advocacy since residency, and has been widely recognized with numerous regional, provincial, national and international awards for his teaching, advocacy and impact. He has helped form health policy and engaged medical colleagues across the country and around the world to be more aware of and advocate against policies that stigmatize and discriminate against the mentally ill, and has testified to numerous parliamentary and senate committees on a range of mental health and health policy issues.

Dr. Gaind believes medical experts have an obligation to help guide health policies with evidence, not just ideology, and to consider the impacts of public policies on the most marginalized to avoid perpetuating policies of privilege. Views expressed are his own, and not meant to represent any group or institution he works with.