Local funding requirements, infrastructure hurdles and a decades‑long planning process shape WRHN’s path forward.
As of late 2025, the Waterloo Region Health Network (WRHN) is moving forward with a new hospital project, with most of its funding relying on a 25 per cent local share contribution, which will be raised through the municipality and local fundraising efforts.
On Dec. 19, 2025, Waterloo Region Health Network (WRHN) gave an update on the upcoming hospital’s progress during an all-council meeting in Elmira. During the meeting, they presented a Local Share Plan, which represents the hospital’s share of the total project cost, including all eligible associated costs.
During the meeting, it was anticipated that approximately 25 to 30 per cent of the project would not be covered by government funding and would need to be paid for by hospital revenues, a fundraising campaign by the hospital foundation and contributions from local municipalities.
According to the President and CEO of WRHN, Ron Gagnon, there will be three main sources for the revenue: new revenue from the hospital, fundraising by the WRHN Foundation, and contributions from the Region of Waterloo and the seven municipalities.
The 25 per cent requirement is mandated by the Provincial Government’s funding formula. While the Province pays for 90 per cent of construction costs, the local community must cover the remaining 10 per cent, as well as 100 per cent of all furniture, fixtures, and medical equipment.
“Generally, combining these two formulas… it equates to the hospital/community having to fund 25 per cent of the total building cost and equipment costs,” said Cassandra Easton, Public Affairs lead at WRHN.
Hospital revenue included money coming in from parking, retail, and food services in the hospital, and revenue from “preferred accommodations,” according to documentation for the Friday presentation.
When the hospital developments finish, the new two-million-square-foot facility at the University of Waterloo will become one of the largest community hospitals in the province. This project has already been in the works for 20 years, but the health network said it’s moving faster than most hospital developments.
Gagnon said that attending to the first patient at the new hospital is a critical priority because the WRHN doesn’t have the capacity needed to meet the needs of the community and would not have the capacity to meet the growing community.
The Waterloo Region Health Network officials said they hope to open the hospital’s doors in 2035 and wrap up the final construction phase in 2039. The timeline is entirely dependent on approvals from Ontario’s Ministry of Health.
The next big step is to get the project formally in the provincial budget, including the construction start date.
The reliance on local funding for what is traditionally a provincial service has drawn criticism beyond the region. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) has officially called for a re-examination of the funding model, which it said takes resources away from other essential municipal services and places an undue burden on local taxpayers for a provincial responsibility.
Construction of the new hospital is expected to create around 19,000 jobs. The work will be done in phases and includes plans to expand the WRHN@Chicopee (formerly Grand River Hospital, Freeport Campus) and renovate the WRHN@Midtown (formerly Grand River Hospital, KW Campus).
With the opening of the new hospital, WRHN @ Queen’s Blvd. will close.
“The hospital is currently working with the eight local governments to identify a contribution methodology from taxpayers,” Easton said, noting that the plan has not yet been formalized.
Beyond financial planning, the project faces local infrastructure hurdles.
“We are actively collaborating with regional partners to understand how water supply constraints in the Mannheim Service Area might impact the development of the new hospital site at the University of Waterloo,” said Easton.
At this time, it’s not clear how much the total cost of the project will be.
“While WRHN projects economic growth, the Region’s own asset management reports show a multi-million-dollar deficit in maintaining current infrastructure,” the Region of Waterloo’s 2026 Budget report said. The document further noted that the region faces a 25.2 million annual funding gap for its existing assets, raising questions about the feasibility of new large-scale commitments.
Contributed Photo/ Sangjun Han
