With the release of Ontario’s 2025 budget, Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini says it’s monumental day for the region and local healthcare.
For years, Campbellford Memorial Hospital (CMH) has been advocating for upgrades – particularly, in the form of a new hospital and campus of care.
Piccini campaigned on advancing the project in the 2025 provincial election.
As Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy released the budget in Ontario Legislature Thursday, May 15, Piccini had this message to share locally.
This is about keeping care close to home and enhancing care with the campus – it’s about addressing alternate levels of care volumes and ER pressures – and it’s about planning for decades to come, said Piccini.
CMH was originally built in 1953, and with the exception of construction of the emergency department wing in 1987, it hasn’t undergone any major renovations since.
As previously reported, the community has been rallying to bring to life a new hospital and campus of care in the County Road 30 area, just west of Campbellford, on a 48-acre piece of land generously donated by local farmer Jim Curle.
Piccini said this planning grant is key to advancing the project, which has been described as an ambitious endeavour offering multiple health-care services in one central location.
Earlier plans pointed to a redeveloped 50-bed hospital, along with a new 128-bed long-term care facility at the site, which would also house other medical offices/buildings dedicated to additional services under mental health, primary care, geriatrics, possible supportive housing, et cetera.
However, it will still likely be years before the project comes to fruition. Earlier estimates by hospital officials indicated that following a provincial planning grant, it’ll likely take three-four years before construction starts and another three-to-five years until completion.
Piccini also said the province is continuing to invest in healthcare through expansions of primary care teams and investments under integrated community health service centres, and more.
The planning grant for Campbellford was part of $103 million in grants for six additional hospitals in Ontario, said Piccini.
He said the province is also prioritizing supports for workers and youth through the skills development fund and looking to keep costs down for Ontarians through actions like permanently cutting gasoline and fuel tax rates, along with axing tolls from the provincially owned Hwy. 407 East.
According to the province, the cut to gas and fuel tax rates is supposed to save households on average about $115 annually. Meanwhile, the province said daily commuters will reportedly save $7,200 annually with the removal of tolls.