Province to build new hospital on University of Waterloo campus

The site of a new hospital in Waterloo Region will be on vacant land on the University of Waterloo’s campus.

St. Mary’s General Hospital and Grand River Hospital are planning a new joint acute care hospital at the David Johnston Research + Technology Park (R+T Park).

The new state-of-the-art hospital aims to bring more hospital beds, acute care capacity and new services to the region, enhancing local healthcare accessibility.

The future site, located west of Bearinger Road and Hagey Boulevard, was chosen after a 10-month property review process led by an independent site selection panel.

The announcement was made Monday by local officials and Premier Doug Ford.

"It's a historic day for Waterloo," Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe said. "It's the first time a hospital will be built in our community."

This collaboration continues the longstanding partnership between the hospitals and the university, building on recent initiatives like the Care Next Coalition, which integrates local innovations from the university directly into patient care.

"Geographic spacing actually gives us even better ability to serve all the different communities of Kitchener-Waterloo and to give you even more access points for the broader region that we serve," said Mark Fam, president of St. Mary’s General Hospital.

Ron Gagnon, President and CEO of Grand River Hospital, added: "This is a generational project where you only get to do it once in a generation and it will impact generations to come so this is a really exciting day."

The planning process for the new hospital will take approximately five years, with construction expected to follow for another five years. The new facility is projected to open by 2035.

Vivek Goel, President of the University of Waterloo, emphasized the significance of the project.

"Today’s announcement means more than a new state-of-the-art hospital in our region, it is a deepening of an already strong collaboration between our University and health institutions across the region," said Goel. "Certainly we're not going to be involved directly in the clinical operations of the hospital. But what we're looking at is working jointly in creation of an innovation health science centre."

Ontario's Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Sylvia Jones, and Premier Doug Ford highlighted the government’s commitment to healthcare infrastructure, noting the investment of more than $50 billion in over 50 major hospital projects across the province.

In April, the boards of the two hospitals announced their goal of merging into a single organization to oversee current sites and future projects, including the new hospital, which will be one of three campuses operated by the joint organization.

The merger of the new hospital organization is expected to be completed in spring 2025.

At this point, the two hospitals said it is too early to say definitively if the integration will lead to any job losses or layoffs, but to expect changes to jobs and processes across the new hospital organization.

The future of the St. Mary’s site will be decided through consultations, but it will remain operational until the new hospital is completed.