The new Hotel Dieu Shaver will transform rehabilitation and complex care for patients and families across Niagara.
For nearly a century, our teams have provided exceptional care in a facility originally built in 1930. Even with among the highest patient satisfaction scores in Ontario, we know that our current space cannot keep up with today’s needs – or tomorrow’s.
That’s why we’re planning a major expansion: a new, purpose-built hospital on our existing property that will be three times the size of our current inpatient building.
This new facility will include:
- 190 inpatient beds, with capacity to grow further as Niagara’s population grows
- Larger, mostly private rooms with private bathrooms for every patient
- Expanded therapy areas to support our wide range of rehabilitation programs
- Modern, sustainable design that prioritizes natural light, accessibility, and healing views of the Niagara Escarpment
From Vision to Momentum: The Road to Expansion
The journey to expand Hotel Dieu Shaver has been decades in the making. As far back as 2007, we submitted a master plan calling for additional rehabilitation beds to meet Niagara’s growing needs. Over the years, those calls were reinforced by health partners, planners, and government, all recognizing that our region required more capacity in post-acute care.
Government support followed: a $500,000 planning grant in 2018, and then in 2023, a $2.5 million grant to launch the next phase of planning. These investments allowed us to prepare detailed submissions and move forward with confidence.
In May 2025, we began the Functional Program stage – a major milestone.
Working with Canadian healthcare design leaders HDR Architecture Associates Inc., and guided by input from staff, physicians, and patients, we are now mapping out the clinical services and spaces that will define our new hospital.
It has been a long road – but each step has brought us closer to creating a modern, purpose-built facility that will transform rehabilitation care in Niagara.
Message from the Minister
"Our government is protecting Ontario’s health care system and ensuring that more people in St. Catharines and across Niagara Region can connect to world-class rehabilitation and complex care, where and when they need it most.
By supporting the expansion at Hotel Dieu Shaver, we are making it faster and easier for more people and their families to access the right care, in the right place, for years to come."
Sylvia Jones
Deputy Premier and Minister of Health
What’s Next: 2025 and Beyond
From Planning to Design
With Functional Programming now underway, the next step will be turning our plans into designs for the new hospital. This stage will translate the vision – more beds, modern therapy spaces, and patient-centred design – into detailed layouts and blueprints.
Working Together
We’ll continue engaging staff, physicians, patient advisors, and community partners to make sure the facility reflects the needs of everyone who will use it. Their voices will help shape decisions on everything from patient rooms and therapy areas to family spaces and staff work environments.
Building the Future
Once planning and design are complete and approvals are in place, we will move forward to construction later this decade. Our goal is clear: create a new rehabilitation hospital that will transform care in Niagara, helping more patients recover, return home, and live life to the fullest.
Hotel Dieu Shaver is following the Ministry of Health's three-stage capital planning process outlined in its Capital Planning and Policy Manual.
STAGE 1.1: PRE-CAPITAL Hotel Dieu Shaver created and submitted its Pre-Capital submission in parallel to the Stage 1.2 Proposal. The Pre-Capital document contained descriptions of program and service needs, along with the rationale for capital investment. STAGE 1.2: PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT The process begins with the hospital and Ministry of Health working to determine the size and scope of the project, along with estimating the budget. During this stage the hospital develops a detailed overview of the need and options for the proposed capital initiative, including descriptions and analysis of both program and service elements (Part A) as well as physical and cost elements (Part B). The Proposal Development stage will help the hospital understand and articulate issues such as: The Stage 1.2 Proposal was originally submitted in 2020 and was approved to move into Function Program planning in 2023. STAGE 1.3: FUNCTIONAL PROGRAM The functional program is a detailed planning document that describes future services, activity volumes, staffing levels, new technologies, and space requirements. The final document provides details on every room in the new hospital including what each room will be used for and where it will need to be located to provide the best possible experience for patients and staff. During this stage, the hospital and ministry reach agreement on a range of key information inputs needed to design the capital solution and to determine both costs and cost eligibility. Information at this stage includes, but is not limited to: The Stage 1.3 submission, including a functional program, block schematic drawings, and an early cost estimate will be submitted to the Ministry of Health by March 31, 2026. Once Stage 1.3 is approved, Hotel Dieu Shaver will work with Infrastructure Ontario to establish a Planning, Design and Compliance (PDC) team and consultants to develop Indicative Design and Project Specific Output Specifications (PSOS) requirements. To learn more about this phase of planning, please refer to the Ministry of Health's Capital Planning and Policy Manual. STAGE 3.1: AWARD OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT Once the winning bidder is announced, working drawings are accelerated as Hotel Dieu Shaver, Infrastructure Ontario and the Developer drive toward commercial close and signing of the Project Agreement. STAGE 3.2 - CONSTRUCTION Once a contract is awarded, construction begins immediately while the final design is further developed. Construction of the new hospital is anticipated to begin in fall 2028 and we anticipate substantial completion in 2033. OPERATIONAL READINESS AND MOVE IN Operational Readiness ensures a smooth transfer of operations on opening day. During this time, the focus is on making sure the facility is ready and welcoming to the community and that staff and physicians are familiar with the flow of the new hospital and know how to access and use everything they need to do their jobs while providing high quality and safe care. For more information on the history of the project, please see Frequently Asked Questions.
