Four Ontario projects were among the seven winners of the 2022 National Awards for Innovation and Excellence in Public-Private Partnerships.

Presented annually by The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP), the awards showcase how partners use Canada’s P3 model to create, deliver, operate and maintain innovative and transformative infrastructure for their communities.

The awards will be formally presented on November 21, with the winner of the 2022 Champion Award announced the following day.

“This year, the projects being honoured are transforming our communities, from building state-of-the-art high schools and hospitals to bringing critical broadband service to rural and remote citizens,” said CCPPP President and CEO Lisa Mitchell. “These seven projects demonstrate the continuing evolution and resiliency of the P3 model in delivering best-in-class infrastructure for Canadians that is innovative and cost effective.”

Winning a silver award in the project development category is Infrastructure Ontario’s Accelerated High Speed Internet Program. This $1.25-billion project is the first of its kind to execute a large-scale electronic reverse auction in Canada designed to foster competition among national, regional and local internet service providers (ISPs) with the goal of connecting up to 266,000 of the hardest to reach homes and businesses across Ontario with high-speed internet by the end of 2025.

The Grandview Children’s Treatment Centre Redevelopment project earned an award of merit, also in the project development category. Once constructed, the new facility will serve as the headquarters for Grandview Kids, which specializes in care and support for children and youth with physical, communication and developmental needs, and their families.

In the infrastructure category, the Highway 7 West Bus Rapid Transit won a silver award. The $333-million project delivered a 12.6-kilometre bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor in Vaughan and Richmond Hill, connecting to the 34-kilometre BRT network serving York Region’s growing urban centres. The system, which was delivered on time and on budget, included the construction of 20 centre-median station platforms, a unique multi-use path on the Highway 7 bridge over Highway 400 and enhanced streetscaping.

In the service delivery category, the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital project won an award of merit. The $2-billion DBFM hospital project remains one of the largest infrastructure projects in Ontario. The project demonstrates the resiliency of the P3 model, with top service delivery continuing despite the global collapse of initial consortium partner Carillion Canada Inc. in 2018. EllisDon has since assumed responsibility for the 30-year management of the hospital’s facilities and services.

Projects outside Ontario that won awards included:

Project Development – Gold Award: P3 Schools Bundle #2, Alberta.

The $300.3-million project is the first ever P3 schools bundle in Alberta comprised exclusively of high schools.

Infrastructure – Gold Award: Gatineau 2, Library and Archives Canada

The $330-million state-of the-art Preservation Storage Facility is the first net-zero carbon building dedicated to archival preservation in the Americas and the largest facility of its kind to be equipped with a high-tech automated storage and retrieval system.

Infrastructure – Award of Merit: Royal Inland Hospital - Phil & Jennie Gaglardi Tower, British Columbia 

The $417-million, 300,000-square-foot patient care tower at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops houses new clinical, administrative and support spaces. During construction, the project faced a number of extraordinary impacts caused by the pandemic, wildfires and extensive flooding caused by the 2021 atmospheric rivers. The events impacted resources, supply chain logistics, workflows, and budgets yet constructors EllisDon still found innovative ways to ensure project success with the hospital completed on time and on budget.