Saskatoon cancer lodge gets first cash from $610-million federal fund

A new cancer lodge going up in Saskatoon got the first $7.25 million of more than $610 million coming to the province from the federal government.

The money, from the provincial and territorial section of the Build Communities Strong Fund, includes just over $195 million across three years to build health infrastructure, a federal statement said. That “will complement existing federal health-related support,” the Oct. 16 statement said.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the new Saskatoon Cancer Patient Lodge happened at 1036 College Dr., a Saskatchewan statement said. Builders think the new lodge will be finished by the spring of 2028, that statement said. It will replace a lodge, already torn down, that was built in 1928.

The two governments are supplying $7.25 million each and the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan is chipping in $10 million.

The lodge “will provide patients with a modern, supportive place to stay close to care, helping them focus on their health and recovery,” said Jeremy Cockrill, the health minister.

“We’re working with the province to address real needs in our communities and ensure that these infrastructure investments make a meaningful difference for urban, rural, northern and remote communities, right across our province,” Buckley Belanger, the secretary of state for rural development, said in the federal statement.

The new lodge will provide a “home-away-from-home” for patients undergoing treatments nearby, with “33 private patient rooms, including three dedicated suites for stem cell transplant recipients and 14 companion accommodation spaces,” the statement said. It will also have a “well-equipped kitchen ... areas where patients and companions can watch TV and connect with others, a reflection room” that can accommodate Indigenous ceremonies, other common spaces and an exercise room, the provincial statement said.

Patients and families were involved in the lodge design and the new building “fully demonstrates our commitment to patient and family-centred care,” said Deb Bulych, who runs the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency.

“For people who must leave home for cancer treatment, having a welcoming place to stay can ease an enormous burden,” added cancer foundation boss Nora Yeates.