The Port Hardy Hospital will be expanding and modernizing its emergency department with construction anticipated to start in summer 2026.
Construction will take approximately three years using a phased approach to minimize service disruption, with completion in late 2029.
Port Hardy Hospital opened in 1980 and is the largest hospital in northern Vancouver Island region, with more than 6,000 emergency room visits annually. This will be the first major upgrade to the hospital since its opening.
The improvements include:
- upgrades to the emergency department, including a building extension and ambulance canopy
- conversion of existing office and storage space into long-term care rooms for seniors, with up to five beds
- new culturally safe spaces, including a sacred space and Indigenous health office, to support the delivery of culturally safe care
- expanding and modernizing the maternity delivery suite
- expanding and modernizing laboratory services
- morgue expansion
- 21 new parking stalls and rough-in for future electric-vehicle charging stations
expansion of administrative areas to improve staff workspaces and increase efficiency.
“This project will help support patients, staff and the broader community in Port Hardy for decades to come,” said Minister of Infrastructure Bowinn Ma. “Modernizing this facility will strengthen the region’s health-care system, investing in the infrastructure we need to make sure people on the northern Island have access to reliable, high‑quality services close to home.”
