Vera Etches

Vera Etches
Ottawa Medical Officer of Health
In office
April 2018  March 2025
Preceded byIsra Levy
Succeeded byTrevor Arnason (interim)
CEO of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Assumed office
March 3, 2025
Preceded byAlex Munter
Personal details
Born1975
New Zealand
Alma materSimon Fraser University, BSc
University of British Columbia, M.D.
University of Toronto, MHSc
OccupationPhysician

Vera G. Etches (born 1975) is a Canadian physician and public health expert who served as Ottawa's medical officer of health from 2018 to 2025, the first woman to hold the position. She is best known for leading the city's public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2025, she became the president and chief executive officer of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).