County Welcomes Provincial Funding Advancing Hospital Project

ESSEX COUNTY, ONT - The County of Essex welcomes the announcement of funding in the Provincial Budget that advances to Stage 2 a community effort to build a state-of-the art hospitals system that will serve regional residents for generations to come.

“Windsor and Essex County residents have told us clearly and consistently that they want to see a shovel in the ground when it comes to this hospital project and the funding in today’s Budget is a crucial step toward that momentous day,” said Warden Gary McNamara.

“Our work to construct a modern hospitals system is far from over, but this funding provides significant momentum, taking the project from the theoretical to the possible and even probable.”

The $9.8 million funding announcement in today’s Budget will allow Windsor Regional Hospital and its community partners to complete the functional program for the new facility – a significant undertaking that will take at least 18 months to complete.

County of Essex Council has passed three separate motions related to the pressing need for a new hospital. The councils of each of the County’s seven local municipalities have likewise affirmed their support, as has the Council of the City of Windsor. As well, the County of Essex has been setting money aside in anticipation of this project becoming a reality. The County’s 2021 Budget put $5.8 million into a hospital reserve, bringing the total to nearly $25 million.

“I would like to thank the people of Windsor-Essex for their vocal support of this project and for sharing their personal stories about the failings of our cramped and outdated hospital system,” said McNamara.

“All those letters and emails you sent the province, all those social media posts and all those We Can’t Wait signs you put on your front lawns had their intended effect. You stood up for this community and the province heard your call.”

McNamara emphasized the new hospital project wasn’t just about the health and well-being of residents, but also the strength of our regional economy. The project will generate more than 14,000 jobs over its lifetime, generating employee compensation exceeding $1 Billion and taxes in excess of more than $200 million, including more than $68 million for municipal governments across the region.

“This project will provide for significant economic growth and diversification,” said McNamara. “It will attract to Windsor-Essex the best and brightest in the world of medicine and health care and it will attract more people and more families, fueling increased residential and commercial growth.”