That new record total was made possible by an historic $105 million donation from renowned philanthropist Peter Gilgan and The Peter Gilgan Foundation, the largest donation to a hospital in Canadian history, to build the new Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital and expand the future Gilgan Family Queensway Health Centre. A prominent developer whose career started in the West GTA, Peter’s unparalleled generosity embodies the power of philanthropy to transform health care and inspire others to give so THP can advance its bold vision of a new kind of health care for a healthier community. The Peter Gilgan Foundation is also generously supporting the hospital’s Seniors Services through the Tour de Bleu cycling event.

Peter’s gift capped a record year of gifts from new friends and longtime supporters of the hospital. That included a significant gift from the Kaneff family to support the new hospital to honour the late Dr. Ignat Kaneff. In 1955 at the start of his career as a developer, Dr. Kaneff took out a loan to make the biggest gift to help build the original Mississauga Hospital. On a very special September night at the home of long-time hospital friend Norton Kothari, Sandeep and Puja Gupta and Chetan Handa pledged $1 million each to the new hospital.

Corporate support to THP included: Raman and Nidhi Dua’s Save Max Real Estate gift of $2.5 million to support the new hospital and provide gift baskets so babies born at THP enjoy the best possible start in life, inspiring his friend PK Sabharwal to give $1 million; TD Bank Group’s gift to advance the use of artificial intelligence at the hospital through a $1 million gift; and other generous gifts and more.
Donor support is crucial for new equipment, which is not funded by the government. Last year donor gifts secured the hospital’s new 3T MRI which offers improved imaging and faster exam times and allows personalized treatment strategies for cancer patients. The new echocardiogram (TEE) machine in our cardiac cath lab creates detailed images via a device passed down a patient’s throat before and after each TAVI heart valve procedure to ensure proper placement

Donor support also continues to advance work at the Institute for Better Health (IBH), the hospital’s research and innovation engine powering our vision to create a new kind of health care. Research Chairs Dr. Walter Wodchis, Dr. Kerry Kuluski, Dr. Laura Rosella and Dr. Rob Reid and the entire IBH team led projects to better understand the health of our region, including via population health and big data; to foster innovative approaches to health care, such as supporting the province’s Ontario Health Teams; and have played a pivotal role in THP’s pandemic response including data modelling and operationalizing THP’s high-volume COVID-19 vaccine clinics, including the largest in Ontario at the University of Mississauga, which have delivered over half a millions doses in our community.

The pandemic has challenged our health system and our hospital, especially our staff, who have worked under difficult circumstances for over two years now. It has shown us the best of THP, and highlighted the need to update our infrastructure, including through the future home of The Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital and an expanded Gilgan Family Queensway Health Centre. The uneven impact of the pandemic has highlighted the inequities of the health care system, particularly among communities that face barriers to care. Philanthropic support will be key to the success of our modern new facilities and of our goal to create a health system that is more efficient and inclusive, to ensure no one gets left behind.

To our growing family of friends and donors, thank you for your remarkable generosity that has made this such a record breaking year, and for your investment in a new kind of health care.