Dr. Douglas Courtemanche is a plastic surgeon with a special interest in cleft and craniofacial surgery. A graduate of UBC’s medical school (1983) he interned at Memorial University in Newfoundland, returned to BC for his residency in plastic surgery and completed a craniofacial fellowship at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne as well as a Master of Surgery at the University of Melbourne.

He is a Clinical Professor of Surgery at UBC and now brings almost 35 years of clinical and academic experience to the care of his patients and the support of his colleagues as one of the surgeon leaders with the Cleft Palate/Craniofacial Program at BC Children’s Hospital.

Outside of medicine he enjoys cycling, gardening, spending time with family and, time in nature with his border collie. A few years ago, he bought an electric cargo bike to replace his car for things like grocery shopping; but had to upgrade some parts to make it more bike and less electric!

His other major passion is his work with Doctors for Planetary Health - West Coast, CAPE and WE-CAN, working for social and environmental justice and challenging colonial structures to make the necessary changes in the face of the global climate emergency.

He is now in his 5th year of “intense” engagement on a wide range of issues including climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, reconciliation, war and nuclear disarmament, human rights and the rights of nature.