‘Very worrisome’: Ottawa Hospital redevelopment faces questions over soaring costs and delays

The price tag for Ottawa’s long-awaited Civic Hospital redevelopment could be climbing by billions of dollars beyond what was originally anticipated, raising new questions about when the facility will open and who will be left to foot the bill.

The project, initially estimated to cost $2.8 billion, is facing renewed scrutiny after Ontario Infrastructure Minister David Piccini told a legislative committee in late October that the province’s investment in the new hospital was approaching $10 billion — nearly five times the $2.1 billion originally committed by Queen’s Park.

However, the Ministry of Health has not confirmed that figure, and neither the province nor the Ottawa Hospital has released a final project budget or construction timeline.

The uncertainty has prompted renewed calls for transparency from local politicians and health-care advocates, who worry the escalating costs could leave Ottawa taxpayers responsible for a much larger contribution than originally anticipated.

On Nov. 2, Ottawa Liberal MPPs John Fraser and Stephen Blais called on the provincial government to release the project’s full budget, establish a clear opening date and ensure additional costs are not passed on to local taxpayers.

During the earlier legislative committee exchange, Blais questioned how Ottawa could be expected to cover its share if costs increased so dramatically.

“We’ll go from $700 million to let’s call it roughly $2.25 billion to $2.5 billion,” Blais said, referring to the potential local contribution. “That is a significant increase. Ottawa does not have a corporate business community like Toronto.”

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has also pushed back against the possibility of the municipality incurring billions in additional expenses, saying that hospital construction is a provincial responsibility.

The developments have added to concerns already being raised by the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), a provincial advocacy group that has studied the privatization of health care.

Natalie Mehra, the organization’s executive director, told the Ottawa Lookout that a lack of communication about the projected timeline and cost is “very worrisome” and a “travesty.”

“I’m concerned that the cost is going to be so high that they have to shrink the size of the hospital,” said Mehra. “It won’t be big enough to meet the population base for it that needs it. I’m also worried that the whole project is just going to fall through like Kingston,” she said, referring to the redevelopment of the Kingston General Hospital. 

The request for qualifications was issued in 2021 and withdrawn by the province in 2023.