Desjardins donates $500,000 to support The Ottawa Hospital’s Campaign to Create Tomorrow

Desjardins Group has made a $500,000 contribution to The Ottawa Hospital’s Campaign to Create Tomorrow, helping advance the development of a state-of-the-art healthcare facility that will be one of the most patient-centred and technologically advanced research hospital in the country.

This support, from their GoodSpark Fund program, reflects Desjardins’ 125-year tradition of strengthening communities through solidarity, equity, and care for others. It also underscores the cooperative’s belief that when people come together, they can build a healthier, more resilient future.

The Ottawa Hospital’s Campaign to Create Tomorrow embodies that same vision — uniting people, ideas, and innovation to redefine what healthcare can mean. This historic $500-million fundraising campaign is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform healthcare.

“We created the GoodSpark Fund to continue a long history of making a lasting impact in local communities. The Campaign to Create Tomorrow has a powerful, innovative vision that will do that not only for people in Ottawa, but also for people across Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, and beyond. We’re very proud to be a part of that,” says Denis Dubois, President and CEO, Desjardins Group.

Desjardins’ GoodSpark Fund is investing $280 million by 2027 to projects that foster socioeconomic development and community vitality. Its contribution to The Ottawa Hospital’s upcoming hospital campus will help to support the hospital’s commitment to sustainability, such as green spaces and therapeutic gardens across the hospital site, giving patients, staff, and visitors welcoming places to heal, reflect, and recharge. The new hospital will also be home to groundbreaking research and will help improve care across the region.

“Improving the lives of people and communities is a powerful incentive,” Dubois says. “When you bring together a collaborative network of stakeholders around a shared ambition — one that improves the lives of individuals and creates a ripple effect across local communities and the national healthcare community — you’re not just supporting a single initiative. You’re building something bigger; you’re building a better tomorrow.”

Just as Ottawa Mayor Harold Fisher rallied Ottawa a century ago to open the original Civic Hospital in response to the 1918 pandemic, Desjardins now stands with our community to help create a hospital for the next hundred years — advancing research, innovation, and compassionate care for generations to come.

“We’re commemorating Desjardins’ 125-year legacy not only with celebration, but by making a tangible impact on the health and well-being of the people we serve,” says Dubois.