Which hospital wins First Baby of the Year bragging rights?

A few hospitals in the region have announced the first babies born of 2026.

It’s a tough race to win, but a family from Huntsville is in the lead, so far.

The race, of course, is to have the first baby born on January 1 in your area.

Since CTV covers a wide swath of Central Ontario, we’ve broadened our scope to try to get a rattle, I mean handle, on the newest member of our society.

It turns out that Southlake Health is holding its own, as baby Turner was the first baby born in the hospital by a long-shot.

Turner entered this world at 12:48 a.m., weighing in at six pounds, 14 ounces.

“It’s a joy to welcome the first babies of 2026 at Southlake Health,” said Nicole Vernon, a Registered Nurse on the Birthing Unit at Southlake Health. “Congratulations to all the new parents and babies. Our team is thrilled to be part of their story and support them as they begin the new year with a new chapter.”

Southlake welcomed seven new babies on January 1.

A little farther north, Noah Carlo Bullock made his debut at 1:22 a.m. Weighing in at seven pounds and four ounces, parents Edward Bullock and Rosalia D’angelo are thrilled to welcome their first child at Collingwood General and Marine Hospital.

Next in line are parents Taylor and Christopher Brown of Huntsville were the lucky couple to welcome Valley Brown, who weighed in at eight pounds, six ounces, at Orillia’s Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.

Valley joins her proud older brother, Dalton. While mother and daughter rested, proud father Chris said “We are so grateful to Dr. Jessica Green and the entire obstetrics team at OSMH for their incredible care and support throughout this experience. They made this special day even more memorable for our family.”

Barrie’s Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH)’s newest patient is a baby boy who snuck in, or rather, out, at 8:02 a.m. January 1.

Weighing five pounds and five ounces, baby Jack was born to Adriana and David D’Amico a little earlier than expected.

“We had a due date of January 29, so I was thinking I’d probably have February baby,” said Adriana.

Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston welcomed its first baby of the year. Parents Ashley Kehoe and Peter Iggulden brought Lakelin to the world, weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces. Lakelin is the couple’s first child.