Infrastructure Ontario and Trillium Health Partners have picked Canadian firm EllisDon for a US$958m contract to finance and build a hospital extension in Etobicoke, the suburb between the neighbouring cities of Toronto and Mississauga.

The Mississauga-based contractor will develop the “The Future Home of the Gilgan Family Queensway Health Centre”.

This will involve building a nine-storey tower containing more than 350 beds, as well as creating more space for specialised treatment, including convalescence and physiotherapy services.

EllisDon was prequalified in May 2022, after it demonstrated that it had the experience and the financial capacity to carry out the work.

Altogether, the extension will add 56,000 sq m to the Queensway Health Centre. It will be made up of private rooms rather than wards, and will come with a standalone central utility plant and a car park.

Karli Farrow, the chief executive of Trillium Health Partners, said in a press statement that the historic project would “serve our community for generations to come”.

She said: “Once completed, The Gilgan Family Queensway Health Centre will have space for over 350 beds, allowing us to increase our hospital’s capacity to provide quality health care from Milton to Toronto. This milestone brings us one step closer to more beds, shorter wait times, and greater specialisation closer to home.”

EllisDon will begin work on the scheme immediately.