Province commits cash to new Calgary cancer centre

Premier Notley made the announcement from the Tom Baker Centre in Calgary on Wednesday, October 28, 2015.

The NDP released its 2015 budget on Tuesday and plans to put $830M into a new cancer centre at the Foothills Medical Centre over the next five years.

The Notley government announced back in July that it would go ahead with the new all-in-one facility in Calgary to replace the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

“Our government is committed to providing the best possible cancer care for Albertans and their families, and the investments we’re making under this year’s budget reflect that priority. This investment strengthens health care for Albertans, and it’s happening at the right time, while construction costs are low and while we’re focused on taking care of each other during tough times,” said Alberta Premier Rachel Notley.

The province says the new centre will provide more inpatient beds and additional patient services for Albertans.

“I applaud the Alberta government for making this very important investment in the Calgary Cancer Centre and more importantly, in bringing better cancer care to Calgarians and people across the province. The focus the government has brought to this project shows they are serious about meeting the cancer care needs of Albertans, not only today but well into the future,” said Myka Osinchuk, CEO of the Alberta Cancer Foundation.

“State of the art facilities like we’re going to see in the new Calgary Cancer Centre are an essential part of Alberta’s cancer care infrastructure. Every day about 43 Albertans learn they have cancer, and our current projections are that we’re going to see more Albertans being diagnosed with cancer each year. The Calgary Cancer Centre will be vital to meeting the cancer care needs of these Albertans,” said Dr. Francois Belanger, AHS Vice President and Medical Director, Central and Southern Alberta.

The new centre is already in the planning stages and will be built on the northeast corner of the Foothills Medical Centre Campus.

Construction is expected to begin in 2017 and be completed by 2024.

The budget also includes $2.2 B for health infrastructure and a total of $652 million will go towards maintenance at existing health-care facilities across the province over the next five years.