‘Generosity of this magnitude is transformative’: Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation receives $50M donation

Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaking at The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation's announcement of Peter Gilgan's multi-million-dollar donation.

The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation is developing a new early detection cancer research centre, which it says will be the ”largest research program of its kind globally."

On Wednesday, the foundation announced it received a $50 million gift from the Peter Gilgan Foundation. This contribution will be used to establish the Peter Gilgan Centre for Early Cancer Detection Research.

The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation says cancer is the leading cause of death for Canadians, with more than 50 per cent of cancers diagnosed in the late stages.

“Currently, the tremendous promise of early detection remains unfulfilled. Established methods to screen for cancer or detect cancer signals in the blood for the general population are neither cost-efficient or practical,” Dr. Miyo Yamashita, president and CEO of The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, said in the release.

“We are in an unprecedented time in history where healthcare progress is at risk due to funding cuts in research. Generosity of this magnitude is transformative.”

During Wednesday’s announcement, Yamashita said average cancer survival rates in Canada have jumped from 25 per cent in the 1940s to 64 per cent today.

Gilgan, a philanthropist and founder of Mattamy Homes, said he felt “compelled” to gift this money to strengthen Canada’s research, as this disease impacts many Canadians.

“Cancer is a cause that has touched my family and loved ones, and it affects far too many Canadians,” Gilgan said in the release.

“Now is the time to invest in Canada’s capacity for world-class research and innovation.”

Speaking at Wednesday’s announcement with the cancer foundation, Ontario Premier Doug Ford welcomed Gilgan’s donation and spoke on how cancer has impacted his family.

“Cancer is very close to my heart, my family’s heart. Unfortunately, I lost my mother, my father and my brother--my brother a very young age,” Ford said. “So I will do whatever, I will not spare a penny when it comes to cancer research or putting money towards cancer research.”

The research centre will focus on advancing cancer research, aiming to push forward new discoveries and technologies to improve patient care and outcomes.

The foundation says this new will focus on three pillars: understanding how cancer develops to find alternative ways to detect it early; developing new technologies to find cancer in its early stages; and creating a “world-leading program” so their discoveries can be studied, trialled and implemented, including establishing the Molecular Residual Disease (MRD) program. MRD patients have the lowest survival rates currently as a result of treatment resistance and “aggressive biology.”

Data from the Canadian Cancer Statistics Dashboard, helmed by researchers from the University of Calgary and the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, reveal 254,800 new cancer cases are projected among Canadians this year.