On Groundhog Day in February 2019, when asked about the proposed new hospital in Markdale, Premier Doug Ford said “let's get 'er done”.

Today Bruce-Grey Owen Sound MPP Bill Walker and the government of Ontario announced that shovels will be in the ground in Markdale, on the site west of Grey Gables Long-Term Care, on Monday, March 1.

According to a media release, the new hospital is expected to cost approximately $70 million and will include 68,000 square feet of space and will include inpatient beds, a palliative care room, 24/7 emergency room with four exam and treatment areas, laboratory, diagnostic imaging services, physiotherapy, space for ambulatory care clinics, and two ambulance bays. 

Over two decades, the community has raised almost $13 million toward the new hospital through the Centre Grey Health Services Foundation.

It was 2003 when then Minister of Health Eric Hoskins first committed to a new facility for Grey Bruce Health Services in Centre Grey to replace the aging Markdale hospital.