The federal government is boosting its funding for virtual care in Saskatchewan. On Thursday, Indigenous Services Canada Minister Mandy Gull-Masty announced $5.4 million in operational funding for the Virtual Health Hub at Whitecap Dakota First Nation. “To me, this is not only an investment, it’s also infrastructure that is going to be delivered for people. It is a healthier community. It is a stronger economy and it is a stronger future,” Gull-Masty said at Dakota Dunes Resort. The Virtual Health Hub, being constructed next door to Dakota Dunes, is a command centre facility connecting health care to northern and remote Saskatchewan communities. Using telehealth, AI, robotics and other emerging technologies, patients in their home communities will be able to connect with high-quality care without having to undertake long-distance travel. Gull-Masty understands the toll travel can take for routine care all too well. She said she had to travel for three days from her remote Quebec community for ultrasounds when she was having children. The Virtual Health Hub is aiming to reduce or eliminate those trips in the future. “This is something that really spoke to me in a very personal way and resonated with me,” she said. “Families do have to travel. They have to be away from home. For elders especially, this can be very distressing.” The facility is the first of its kind in Canada and is garnering international attention. Indigenous Services has already put $28.2 million towards construction costs, which are being shared among the federal and provincial governments. Construction broke ground in September 2025. The hub is slated to open in early 2027. At the announcement on Thursday, Whitecap Dakota First Nation Chief Darcy Bear said the office in Saskatoon is already benefiting people. He said to demonstrate its impact, the French company building the technology had a robotic ultrasonography performed on a volunteer in Paris by a Saskatoon technician in real time. Bear said the Pittsburgh Penguins, the National Hockey League Players’ Association and the Department of National Defence have all shown an interest in the transformative technology. “The anxiety you get just getting into an ambulance. Can you imagine the anxiety that people in the North feel [when they] have to have to fly away from home to get care?” Bear said. Bear said the Virtual Health Hub is already working in 18 different communities in Saskatchewan, including hospitals. He said Stanley Mission spends over $1.2 million in transportation for its women to receive ultrasounds. The robotic ultrasonography arm costs roughly $250,000. So rather than continue the long days of costly travel, Indigenous Services assisted in getting the robotic arm functioning in Stanley Mission. “This is going to be truly a game changer,” Bear said. When the Virtual Health Hub opens next year, it will be connecting to 30 different communities in Saskatchewan, with plans to be in 90 communities by 2029. “Addressing the challenges of ensuring that you not only bring care closer to home, but that you connect thousands of families — and I’m going to say that again — thousands of families to critical primary care when they need it. I’m very proud of the work that’s undertaken here,” Gull-Masty said. Bear dismissed the idea that virtual care will replace health care professionals. He said this technology is meant to supplement care and provide care in more places. “We are actually empowering the health care professional to be available remotely in northern and remote communities,” Bear said. With the help of the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT), needed professionals in various communities are being trained to prevent disruptions or gaps in delivering virtual health care. Bear said SIIT is on its third cohort of students who will eventually be working up north. “We’re training the people who actually live there. They know the language, [they] know the culture, and it’s home,” he said. “They come and get the training and they go back home and they’re seen as heroes.”
