After years of planning, the footprint of Kenora’s proposed 126-acre Campus of Care is now taking shape.
Kenora Chiefs Advisory and the Lake of the Woods District Hospital have approved an updated master site plan that establishes where the new All Nations Hospital, Wiigwas Elder and Senior Care, major roads, and other infrastructure will be located on Lakeview Drive.
The approval allows the partners to move ahead with subdivision, detailed infrastructure planning and further municipal and provincial approvals.
The plan also leaves room for much broader development that could eventually include other health and social service providers, housing, a hotel, retail and commercial space.
Alison Wesley-James, vice-president of corporate services and chief financial officer at the LWDH, said an earlier master plan was centred on the 30 acres intended for the hospital. At the time, the surrounding property remained privately owned.
That changed when Kenora Chiefs Advisory acquired the larger property, creating a 126-acre site and room for more organizations to potentially locate alongside the hospital.
“When we put out the call that we were updating this master site plan, there were new partners that came forward who said, ‘We want to be part of this initiative,’” Wesley-James said during a media conference call Tuesday.
She said the updated plan establishes the hospital’s location, Wiigwas, major roadways, and infrastructure, providing the groundwork needed to move ahead with other approvals.
For LWDH president and CEO Cheryl O’Flaherty, the approval marks another milestone in a project years in the making. O’Flaherty said she has been involved with the project since 2017, while Joe Barnes of Kenora Chiefs Advisory has been working on it even longer.
“We have a vision to deliver a campus of care to our community, not just to benefit Kenora, but also the surrounding First Nations communities and the region overall,” O’Flaherty said.
KCA currently owns the 126-acre property. The hospital plans to purchase 30 acres from KCA for the new hospital, although that transfer has not yet been completed.
City of Kenora chief administrative officer Stace Gander explained that the property must first go through the subdivision process before the 30-acre hospital parcel can legally be separated and sold.
The city is also moving into detailed design for the water, sewer and other infrastructure needed to service the development.
Gander said the city has allocated $2.2 million for design work on water and sewer extensions, with that work expected to produce more detailed cost estimates.
Once construction begins, Gander said the development could also have a significant impact on Kenora’s workforce.
“During construction, you can likely anticipate 500 to 700 construction jobs being on site for a period of five to seven years,” he said.
Gander said additional jobs would be created as facilities on the site begin operating.
There is not yet a publicly available price tag for the entire Campus of Care. O’Flaherty said a preliminary hospital budget is being developed but has not been made public.
The province committed $50 million in May 2025 for the hospital’s planning phase. The project is currently before Treasury Board for approval to move into its next stage, with further provincial funding still to be allocated.
The hospital is expected to be funded primarily through the province, with a local share component requiring funding from other sources. O’Flaherty said the hospital and KCA are working together to determine where best to seek those funds.
Site due-diligence work is also continuing, with as many as 20 studies underway and expected to carry into 2027.
Wiigwas Elder and Senior Care is further along on its own timeline.
Barnes said the hope is to begin groundwork in June 2027, with the long-term care facility expected to be the first major component of the Campus of Care to open. The goal is to have its doors open within three years.
The province has provided $2.4 million for planning and design work on Wiigwas. Barnes said the province will fund the majority of the project, while a 10 percent community share will have to be raised locally.
Other parts of the Campus of Care are expected to follow a different funding model. Barnes said potential housing, hotel and retail development would involve private investment.
For the hospital itself, significant work still has to happen before construction begins.
Wesley-James said infrastructure servicing, shoreline work for dock access and remediation of wood waste on the hospital property are expected to take place over the next two to three years. The intention is to have that work completed before a general contractor begins construction on the hospital.
The broader Campus of Care is envisioned as a place where acute and long-term care, primary care, mental health and addictions services and cultural healing can be located alongside other services and development.
Planning principles for the site are rooted in the Four Orders of Creation — Earth Nation, Plant Nation, Animal Nation and Human Nation — with an emphasis on cultural safety and connections to land and water.
After years of planning, Barnes said reaching this stage carries some personal weight.
“On a personal level, I’m so proud to work with this team and to see the city and the hospital and the community and the province, and hopefully the feds, come together to help bring this change and bring this opportunity to Kenora,” he said.
Barnes said communities in northwestern Ontario can sometimes feel overlooked because of their size and distance from larger centres.
“We’re in a little small community with a small voting power, but this is unique,” he said. “It’s just a really nice thing to be involved in, and I’m proud to be part of it.”
