Ontario Breaks Ground on Long-Term Care Home in Ailsa Craig

Home redevelopment will bring 96 modern long-term care beds to the community

NEWS

December 11, 2024

AILSA CRAIG — Construction is underway to add 13 new and 83 redeveloped long-term care beds at Craigholme, a long-term care home in Ailsa Craig, Ontario. This project was a recipient of the Construction Funding Subsidy top-up, part of the Ontario government’s commitment to build 58,000 new and upgraded long-term care beds across the province.

“I am pleased to announce the construction start of the redevelopment project at Craigholme,” said Steve Pinsonneault, MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex. “Our government is committed to accelerating the construction of long-term care homes, ensuring that our community’s seniors receive the care and support they deserve.”

The new 96-bed building will be located adjacent to the existing home and have a total of two-stories comprised of three 32-bed Residential Home Areas (RHAs). Each RHA will have its own separate dining room, lounges, balconies, activity areas, medication room and nurses’ workspace. The home will also include a chapel, multipurpose room, boardroom, bistro, hair salon/barber, and a therapy room.

“The vision of this new two-storey, 96-bed long-term care Home was born in 2016,” says Elaine Shantz, President and CEO. “It became a reality because the Board of Directors, the staff, the residents, the donors, the Municipality of North Middlesex and many partners all took a leap of faith, together. Everyone believed in the project. Everyone worked hard, together. There was a spirit of collaboration, goodwill and of understanding what it would take to build and sustain this new Home. In the end, that level of kindness and doing the right thing for the community was the magic.”

“Our government is building Ontario’s long-term care capacity and we are building it where its needed,” said Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Minister of Long-Term Care. “Today marks a significant milestone for the people of Ailsa Craig as when construction is complete, 96 residents will have a safe and modern place to call home.”

The current redevelopment project is expected to complete and welcome its first residents in early 2027.

The government is fixing long-term care to ensure Ontario’s seniors get the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve. The plan is built on four pillars: staffing and care; quality and enforcement; building modern, safe, and comfortable homes; and connecting seniors with faster, more convenient access to the services they need.

QUICK FACTS

• The home is operated by Craigwiel Gardens.
• As of December 2024, 128 projects representing a total of 20,907 new and redeveloped beds are completed, under construction, or have ministry approval to construct.
• As part of its plan to fix long-term care and address sector waitlists, the government is building 58,000 new and upgraded long-term care beds across the province.
• Building more modern, safe and comfortable homes for our seniors is part of the Government of Ontario’s Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021.
• The province is taking innovative steps to get long-term care homes built, including modernizing its funding model, selling unused lands with the requirement that long-term care homes be built on portions of the properties, and leveraging hospital-owned land to build urgently needed homes in large urban areas.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

2024 Ontario Budget | Building a Better Ontario

Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care | ontario.ca

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