Nearly a week after Quebec unveiled its 2026-27 budget, including $2.3 billion for major hospital construction and expansion over the next 10 years, staff at some Quebec hospitals say there is still a lack of clarity on how they’ll be supported — and when.
While Quebec named 34 projects currently in the implementation phase, it labelled dozens as under study or in planning — and failed to detail the exact amounts for some hospitals.
Sylvain Williams, principal investigator of research at the Douglas Research Institute, says staff were hoping for a lot more.
While the Douglas is listed on the province’s list of projects under study, Williams says their needs are dire.
“The feeling is just the lack of urgency and priority from the government,” he said.
“This is a situation that’s been going on in the last couple of decades.”
And it comes as the price tag to fix the network has exploded. Some 38 per cent of the province’s 594 hospital buildings were considered to be in “poor” or “very poor” condition as of early 2026, according to data updated by Santé Québec and compiled by Radio-Canada.
Topping the list of the most dire cases is the Montreal General Hospital, followed by the Douglas Mental Health University Institute — which was forced to close after burst water pipes this past winter.
Governments have ‘not taken this seriously’
Williams says staff have been warning the government for decades about the state of the Douglas.
“This government and previous government [have] not taken this seriously,” he said.
“We’re uncertain, you know, what’s going on. What amount of money will go to the research centre or the Douglas hospital at this point?”
The second and ground floors of the Lehmann pavilion of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute were damaged in an incident this winter. (Rowan Kennedy/CBC)
The research centre requires major renovation and reconstruction due to severe damage and the presence of asbestos, says Williams.
What the team would have liked to see is the hospital and research centre put back in the planning stages, instead of being labelled under consideration, says Williams.
“Planning the hospital, it’s going to take years, we all know this,” he said.
While the team is looking into short-term solutions such as renting special scientific trailers or constructing modular structures to house research activities, Williams says the absence of concrete plans is impacting research programs.
Research focused on Alzheimer’s disease and depression are currently on hold or severely slowed down.
WATCH | Video of the incident at the Douglas shows water raining down:
Flood cleanup begins at Montreal’s Douglas Hospital. Staff worry it could take weeks
Burst pipes at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Montreal flooded about half of its research building, according to staff. The regional health authority blames the cold weather and aging infrastructure.
Maisonneuve-Rosement a ‘national priority,’ doctor says
Dr. François Marquis is among some hospital health-care professionals wondering how the new funds will be invested.
“It is very ambiguous,” said Marquis, an intensive care physician and the head of the intensive care unit at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital.
The Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, pictured in 2025, was listed as one of the 36 projects ‘in planning’ in the Quebec Infrastructure Plan. One of its intensive care doctors says the building is ‘past its due’ and is now a ‘national priority.’ ( Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada)
What he would have liked to see is a commitment to start renovation projects immediately. Instead, his hospital was listed as one of the 36 projects “in planning.”
“You cannot just sprinkle a little bit of money. Everything just needs to be replaced,” Marquis told CBC’s Daybreak.
“The building was built in a time where modern medicine was not conceived, so everything is too small.”
LISTEN | Doctor ‘not happy’ with 2026-27 budget announcements:
Daybreak Montreal13:122026 budget reaction: Maisonneuve Rosemont Hospital and Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers
Intensive care physician and head of the intensive care unit at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Dr. François Marquis and Heidi Yetman, the president of the Quebec Provincial Association Of Teachers, join guest host Douglas Gelevan to discuss the 2026 provincial budget.
The elevators sometimes don’t work and the plumbing, electricity and Wi-Fi all have issues, he says.
“The Maisonneuve-Rosement Hospital is a national priority,” he said.
Last week, the hospital experienced a tech failure and a complete shutdown of the network system resulting in the inability to get lab results and communicate with the pharmacy.
“We had to send people down into the labs to basically read on the machines, get the results and bring back the results to the ICU. We had to divert ambulances because you’re not able to do the triage at the emergency,” said Marquis.
Benoit Charette, Quebec’s minister responsible for infrastructure, was asked last week by reporters what he makes of Marquis’s complaints regarding the budget.
He said he spoke with the CEO of Maisonneuve-Rosement and noted plans need to be completed before starting the construction.
Benoit Charette, Quebec’s minister responsible for infrastructure, said the government can’t start construction without a plan. (Sylvain Roy Roussel/CBC)
“We cannot start the construction of a hospital without a plan,” he said.
“It’s not a question of money. We do have … the money for this project.”
Cautious optimism in Drummondville
Some residents and hospital staff in Drummondville, Que., breathed a sigh of relief the day before the Quebec budget was announced, when Health Minister Sonia Bélanger announced that the construction of a new hospital will be included in the province’s infrastructure plan.
The project is now labelled as in planning.
The new facility would replace the outdated Sainte-Croix Hospital, which has been the site of busted pipes, and sewer and elevator problems.
Advocates have said the Sainte-Croix Hospital in Drummondville, Que., is in need of a new facility that can better keep up with the demands of a growing population. (Yoann Dénécé/Radio-Canada)
“The next step is to get the detailed plan of what we want in our units in the new hospital,” said Dr. Catherine Tétreault, a family doctor at the hospital.
“There will be a future for health care in Drummondville and in southwest Quebec.”
She spoke out in December when a major flood forced the hospital to reduce services. She’s been part of a coalition fighting for the construction of a new regional hospital and says the group has been sounding the alarm about issues plaguing the current facility for the past two years.
The mayor of Drummondville, Jean-François Houle, told Radio-Canada he feels “gratitude” about the government’s infrastructure plan, but he is also remaining vigilant.
He says the municipality has already experienced its share of disappointment following previous announcements on this matter.
“There are many projects registered in the Quebec Infrastructure Plan that have been sitting there for years. It will be my job, among others, to take the baton and ensure that this government and the next one move in the right direction,” he said.
$300M committed to Sept-Îles Hospital
The renovation project for the emergency room and operating block at Sept-Îles Hospital was one of the projects that had been stuck in the planning stage since 2021.
But last Wednesday’s budget brought good news — shifting it to the implementation phase of the Quebec Infrastructure Plan, with the government committing about $300 million over the next 10 years. About $24 million was earmarked for 2026-27.
Head of the emergency department, Dr. Mathieu Maltais, hopes this will help ensure high-quality care for residents.
The planned renovations will address the lack of space, he says, and increase the emergency room’s capacity from 10 to 14 stretchers.
“My dream ER is right there, it just needs to be built,” he said.
