New Dawson Creek hospital scheduled for opening in 2027

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. — Construction of the new Dawson Creek and District Hospital is expected to begin next month, nearing completion in the fall of 2026 and accepting its first patients in 2027.

On Monday afternoon at the future site of the hospital, Minister of Health Adrian Dix announced that Graham Design Builders LP had been selected to design and build the new facility in coordination with Northern Health and Infrastructure BC. The new hospital will be located in a field beside Northern Lights College.

“Our government has reached an important milestone with the Dawson Creek and District Hospital with the selection of the preferred proponent and the signing of the Design-Build Agreement,” said Dix.

“People in the community and the region should expect to see work at the site in the weeks and months ahead as construction begins on the new and expanded hospital in Dawson Creek, and this is fantastic news.”

Dix added he “appreciates the role that Northern Lights College has played” in the new facility’s site and “the need to connect the college to the hospital.”

“We don’t just need hospitals, we need healthcare workers,” said Dix. “Hospitals are nothing without healthcare workers and healthcare professionals.”

The new hospital will be approximately 24,500 square metres, featuring 70 beds, 24 more than the current hospital in Dawson Creek. The hospital’s perinatal unit will be equipped with labour, delivery, recovery and post-partum rooms, along with a nursery. Mental health services at the new hospital will see an increase from 15 beds to 18.

The facility will also continue to provide a range of surgical services, as well as chemotherapy, ambulatory care, radiology, clinical support and pharmacy services.

According to Bev Lambert, a northern representative for the First Nations Health Council, Northern Health has been working in collaboration with local and regional Indigenous partners to ensure the new facility will “promote culturally safe care, and will be built and designed with input and feedback from local Indigenous communities.”

“The new hospital will demonstrate respect for Indigenous cultural values throughout the facility,” said Lambert.  “Design, colours, and artifacts will be used.” 

Lambert added the new hospital would come equipped with a spiritual room for the purpose of accommodating and supporting cultural activities, extended family and multi-generational involvement in their care.

“The space will also have a dedicated exhaust system so people can come to the spiritual room and they can smudge, or burn cedar, or whatever it is they do for their own cultural practices,” said Lambert. 

The project cost for the new hospital is approximately $590 million, which will be shared between the province through Northern Health and the Peace River Regional Hospital District.

The district will contribute a maximum of $177 million. Dawson Creek’s existing hospital will stay open during construction, and future use of its current site will be determined after the new hospital is open and in operation.