The decision to build a hospital lies with the Alberta provincial government, but it is up to our local representatives—our MLA(s), mayor, and city council—to push for it. As your representative, I will be relentless in advocating for Airdrie to get the healthcare facility we desperately need.

And that need is undeniable. Our city is growing rapidly, and our residents should not have to risk long drives to Calgary in medical emergencies. Airdrie is the largest municipality in Alberta without a hospital, and needs it to address critical healthcare gaps, including labour and delivery, diabetes care, ultrasound, overnight beds, and every other situation that stretches the abilities of the current Community Health Center.

Other communities have successfully secured major hospital funding—Red Deer was allocated $100 million in 2019 for hospital expansion, and that project has since increased in scope to $1.8B as per the majorprojects.alberta.ca website. Project to be completed by 2029. So 10 years from initial funding to project completion, which means that if we get a hospital funded for Airdrie today, it won't be completed until sometime in the mid-2030s. And, the estimated population for Airdrie in 2033 is a whopping 138000 residents.

While the city cannot build a hospital on its own, it can remove obstacles and make Airdrie impossible for the province to ignore. That requires leadership, strategy, and a fight that we are all ready for.

Some good news is that there is a proposed  "North Calgary/Airdrie Regional Health Center", that is actually in talks right now. No budget yet, no physical location, and no schedule either. But, if we want to see progress in the next decade, the time to act is now.