Ontario Connecting More People to Health Care in Kenora

Press Release

October 15, 2025

New Lake of the Woods District Hospital, MRI machine and Wiigwas Elder and Senior Care long-term care home will protect the region’s health-care system

KENORA — The Ontario government is investing $50 million to support planning for the new Lake of the Woods District Hospital, connecting more patients and families in Kenora to convenient, world-class care close to home. To improve care for residents of all ages, the government is also investing $1.9 million to support the redevelopment and expansion of the Wiigwas Elder and Senior Care long-term care home, which will be located on the campus of care at the hospital, ensuring seniors in the community can receive the quality of life they need and deserve.

“Our government is investing more than $60 billion to build hospitals across our province, so every community has access to quality care close to home,” said Premier Doug Ford. “Today’s announcement means the more than 30,000 patients from Kenora and the surrounding area who rely on the hospital every year will have access to world-class health care now and for generations to come.”

In addition to the province’s funding for the new hospital and long-term care home, the government invested $7.6 million to build the first-ever Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) suite in Kenora. The MRI suite at Lake of the Woods District Hospital is now fully operational and is proudly serving patients across Northwestern Ontario, including Kenora, Sioux Narrows and several First Nations communities.

“Our government is making historic investments to protect Ontario’s health-care system, ensuring that more people in Northwestern Ontario can connect to convenient care, where and when they need it,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “This investment to support advanced planning stages at Lake of the Woods District Hospital is an important milestone for the community as we work to expand critical programs and services residents rely on.”

Once opened, the new hospital will replace the current Lake of the Woods District Hospital, creating a larger, state-of-the-art hospital for Kenora residents to connect more people in the community to expanded medical services, including:

Increased access to core programs and services, including a modernized emergency department, a mental health unit, and a transitional care unit
Indigenous health spaces and ambulatory care spaces
Expanded diagnostic imaging services, including space for Lake of the Woods District Hospital’s new MRI machine
Renal and cancer care services
Three operating rooms, a procedure room, a post-anesthesia recovery room, and a pre-admission clinic
Enhanced infection prevention and control measures to ensure the health and safety of all patients.

“At the heart of the All Nations Hospital project and Wiigwas Elder and Senior Care Home is leadership and collaborative partnerships,” said Greg Rickford, Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation and MPP for Kenora—Rainy River. “Through the guidance of all partnering nations, we are delivering the expanded care needed in Kenora, surrounding First Nations and beyond. This is truly a magnificent announcement for our region and I thank and congratulate everyone who will be building out this facility.”

Once completed, the new and expanded Wiigwas Elder and Senior Care home in Kenora will offer 160 safe, modernized beds (64 new and 96 redeveloped) that reflect the unique needs of the region’s Indigenous community. The project is in the planning phase and will be eligible for additional funding under the government’s new Capital Funding Program (CFP), with construction expected to begin next year.

“Our government is improving long-term care by building more homes, hiring more staff and protecting residents who reside in them,” said Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Minister of Long-Term Care. “Today marks a significant milestone for Wiigwas Elder and Senior Care and the nine First Nations communities it serves. Once complete, 160 people will have a new home where they can receive the care they need, when they need it.”

With an investment of more than $200 billion in highways, hospitals, transit, long-term care and other critical infrastructure, the Ontario government is expanding and modernizing Ontario’s hospital system and building more modern, safe and comfortable long-term care homes for residents, making it faster and easier for people of all ages to access the high-quality care they need.

Quick Facts

As a next step, the Ministry of Health is working with Lake of the Woods District Hospital to complete early planning for this project, including determining bed numbers and square footage. Once future planning is complete and the project is tendered and awarded, a construction schedule will be confirmed.
Wiigwas Elder and Senior Care is a not-for-profit long-term care home licensed to Wiigwas Elder and Senior Care, an organization formed under the leadership of the Kenora Chiefs Advisory.
As of October 2025, 148 projects representing a total of 24,101 new and redeveloped long-term care beds are completed, under construction or have ministry approval to construct.
The Capital Funding Program (CFP), launched in July 2025 as part of the 2025 Long-Term Care Home Capital Funding Policy, is a continuation of the government’s ambitious and extensive long-term care construction campaign and builds on its historic investment levels. The CFP replaces the construction funding subsidy top-up introduced in 2022, which resulted in the largest construction of long-term care projects the government has achieved in a single year.
Over the next 10 years, Ontario is investing nearly $60 billion to build and upgrade hospitals. This is part of the government’s plan to get shovels in the ground on more than 50 major hospital projects across the province, which will deliver approximately 3,000 new hospital beds and build a connected, people-first health-care system.
Lake of the Woods District Hospital’s new MRI machine is part of the 50 new MRI machines in 43 hospitals that the Ontario government is providing operational funding support for, to increase MRI capacity and services across the province.
Ontario is also adding 100,000 more MRI and CT scans at community surgical and diagnostic centres across the province each year to reduce wait times for MRI and CT scans to 28 days in every region of the province, ensuring every person who needs imaging receives it within the medically recommended period of time.

Quotes

“This announcement is a big reflection on the power of collaboration and shared vision, as well as a strong example of the importance of incorporating First Nations voices and knowledge in a systematic grassroots way. This new campus is just the beginning of a transformative journey. This will open pathways and create connected programming to ensure our people are taken care of physically, mentally and spiritually. We are proud to stand alongside partners as we work to build a health-care system rooted in reconciliation, respect, equity and innovation.”
– Chief Chris Skead
Acting Board President on behalf of the Board of Kenora Chiefs Advisory

“Today marks a significant milestone that signals the unfolding of a series of leading projects that will impact the next seven generations for everyone. The development of this property site, which is owned by Kenora Chiefs Advisory, includes the All Nations Hospital project, and Wiigwas Elder and Senior Care and remains guided by several Elders and the consistent advocacy of our Board of Directors. The success to date is owed to the power of partnerships between First Nation leadership and the Lake of the Woods District Hospital and its Board of Directors. There is additional depth beyond infrastructure — we are creating an equitable future together and accomplishing the Truth and Reconciliation’s Calls to Action one by one as a whole community, with principles of mutual respect and understanding that will shape the care everyone receives.”
– Jennifer Dreaver
Executive Director for Ogimaawabiitong

“The Province of Ontario’s investment in a new hospital and campus of care in Kenora is a vital step toward modernizing our health infrastructure. More than that, it helps close the gap in health inequalities and brings essential care closer to home for the people of Northwestern Ontario. This commitment will yield benefits for decades to come for the health of our communities and the prosperity of our region.”
– Cheryl O’Flaherty
President & CEO, Lake of the Woods District Hospital

“This project is a grand reflection of what it means to invest in our community, not only today but into the future. Progress is strongest when it is collaborative, inclusive and focused on the long-term well-being for all. I’d like to extend my gratitude to the partnerships that make this investment to our community possible, including the Ontario government, Ogimaawabiitong Kenora Chiefs Advisory, Lake of the Woods District Hospital and the City of Kenora.”
– Andrew Poirier
Mayor of the City of Kenora

Additional Resources

Ontario Connecting More People to Health Care in Kenora

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