Stephen Fremes graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School in 1979. He completed training in General Surgery at the University of Toronto in 1986 and Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at the University of Toronto in 1988. He was awarded a MSc in Medical Science in 1984. He is a staff cardiac surgeon at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre since 1989, and a Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto for the past 20 years. He has graduate school appointments in the Institute of Medical Sciences and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation.