Major Toronto hospital secures m for new emergency department expansion

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre will use the provincial funding to almost double the size of its emergency department, with a dedicated mental-health and seniors' assessment wing.

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre has secured $94 million from the Ontario government to fund a major expansion of its emergency department, in what hospital chief executive Dr. Andy Smith called “the most significant single capital announcement we have had in a decade.”

The funding will pay for almost double the current emergency floor space and add a dedicated mental-health crisis intake and a seniors' fast-track assessment area, both of which have been pressed for since the start of the pandemic.

The expansion follows a steady year-on-year increase in emergency-department visits across the GTA. Sunnybrook alone handled more than 73,000 emergency presentations last year, up about 11 per cent on the pre-pandemic average.

“We have been running an emergency department designed for a different city,” Dr. Smith said. “Toronto has grown, the patient mix has shifted, and we need a building that matches what we are now being asked to do.”

Plans submitted to the Ministry of Health include 32 new assessment bays, four resuscitation rooms, and a separate ambulance triage corridor designed to keep paramedic wait times below 30 minutes. Construction is expected to begin in the autumn of 2026 and finish in 2028.