Leading Indigenous Health at Sunnybrook: Meet Leonard Benoit

For Leonard Benoit, health care is about humanity as much as medicine.

“Someone who comes into the hospital should see a reflection of themselves – someone who respects them, who will sit with them and walk their journey with them,” he says. “Healthcare hasn’t always been kind to Indigenous people. Part of my role is making sure that changes.”

That belief now guides his work as the first Indigenous Health and Partnership Lead at Sunnybrook, a newly created role marking a significant milestone in the hospital’s commitment to advancing Indigenous health, strengthening relationships with Indigenous communities, and embedding Indigenous voices across programs, policies, and planning. Social responsibility is a key enabler of Sunnybrook’s Invent 2030 strategic plan and the new role is part of Sunnybrook’s commitment to advancing health equity.

Already a familiar face at Sunnybrook, Benoit has contributed through leadership on Sunnybrook’s Indigenous Advisory Council and through his work as a patient navigator. He’s championed initiatives that strengthen cultural competency and support staff, physicians, learners, and volunteers in providing care that honors Indigenous identity and experience.

The Indigenous Health and Partnerships Lead portfolio will grow out of a recent community engagement process, where Indigenous community members shared what they wanted to see in the hospital – from improved patient navigation and culturally safe spaces to accessing ceremonies.

Benoit’s first step is turning that input into a living strategy.

“We’ve already got direction from the community,” he explains. “Now it’s about developing a work plan that aligns with those needs and with Sunnybrook’s truth and reconciliation commitments and thinking about where we want to be one year, five years, ten years down the road.”

For Benoit, progress begins with relationships.

“Relationships are everything,” he says. “With Indigenous folks, a relationship is a very delicate thing. It’s a sign of respect, of trust, and it’s reciprocal.”

Deeply embedded in Toronto’s Indigenous health networks, he sees his role as bridging hospital teams with communities, ensuring patients have access to the best possible care. His approach is grounded in the Seven Grandfather Teachings: love, honesty, bravery, courage, wisdom, humility, and respect.

“Those teachings guide everything I do: how I live, how I make decisions, and how I walk alongside others,” he says. “They remind me that at any moment, this could be any of us. That’s why this work matters.”

Benoit invites people to view Indigenous health through a holistic lens.

“Healthcare often follows a disease model of finding out what’s wrong. Indigenous people look at it from a wellness model: what keeps me well?” he says.

Sunnybrook is committed to embedding these principles into practice. Spaces for smudging and wellness, sacred fires, community gatherings and feasts aim to honor Indigenous traditions and support healing.

As the portfolio grows, Benoit is equally focused on nurturing future Indigenous health leaders at Sunnybrook and beyond.

“All the knowledge I’ve gathered over the years I need to share it with people, coworkers, and especially young people,” he says. “This knowledge isn’t mine – I’m just a caretaker for now.”