MPP Fraser and MPP Blais demand full costs, an opening date and protection from a ballooning local share

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2 November 2026

QUEEN’S PARK, ON – John Fraser, Ontario Liberal Interim Leader and MPP for Ottawa South, and Stephen Blais, Ontario Liberal Critic for Infrastructure and MPP for Orléans, held a press conference demanding that Premier Doug Ford publish the full budget for Ottawa’s new Civic Hospital and commit provincial funding to cover any increase above the originally published estimate of the local share:

“You cannot put nearly $10 billion on the table and leave taxpayers guessing about the bill,” said Fraser, MPP for Ottawa South. “Patients across Ottawa and eastern Ontario deserve to know when their hospital will open. They should not have to chase this government for basic answers.”

Fraser and Blais are calling for written answers to these questions and a clear provincial funding commitment that protects Ottawa taxpayers and the community’s fundraising efforts.

“The Ford government cannot treat Ottawa’s generosity as a blank cheque. The province must cover any increase beyond the original estimate of the local share,” said Stephen Blais, MPP for Orléans. “Residents deserve a hospital they can count on, a budget they can scrutinize and a government that takes responsibility for delivering both.”

Five questions for the Minister of Health:

1. Who is responsible for oversight of the new Civic campus: the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Infrastructure or the hospital board?
2. Who is responsible for procurement, what process is being used, and why did a project this size draw a single bid?
3. The new Civic was supposed to open in 2028. When will it actually open?
4. What is the actual estimated total cost of the project?
5. What will Ottawa's local share be?

“Residents of Ottawa deserve to know how these costs got so out of control and who is responsible. They deserve a guarantee that they won't be left holding the bag for the Ford government's mismanagement,” said Fraser.

“Put the money on the table. Put deadlines on the calendar. Keep your word,” adds Blais. “Ottawa keeps paying. Ford keeps borrowing. And Ottawa patients keep waiting.”

“When a subway runs late, people wait longer to get to work. When a hospital runs late, people wait longer for care, and Ottawa families have waited long enough,” said Fraser.