The Ontario government has awarded a contract for the functional programming of an Emergency Preparedness and Response Headquarters to Toronto’s WZMH Architects.

The scope of the contract is to determine the specific functions, activities and operational requirements of the facility, which will also serve as home to the Ontario Corps. Work will be completed over the course of 2026.

The building site is located on 17 acres on Disco Road in Etobicoke. It is close to Toronto Pearson Airport and major 400 series highways, and the facility will act as an emergency command centre.

“This new command centre will help us protect communities across Ontario with faster, more coordinated responses whenever emergencies happen, ensuring help gets to the people who need it most,” said Premier Doug Ford. “With a modern home for Ontario Corps, we’re making sure these volunteers and everyday heroes have the tools they need to carry out their critical operations and keep people safe.”

To support this build, the government has been consulting with stakeholders and industry experts to inform the design and construction of the new headquarters. This new headquarters and emergency command centre will be purpose-built to withstand all hazards, with state-of-the-art facilities to bring faster, smarter and more coordinated support to communities across the province.

In 2025, Ontario Corps volunteers contributed more than 6,000 hours delivering emergency relief, including supporting wildfire evacuations, erecting flood barriers, delivering wellness checks and providing meals in communities across the province.

So far this year, 42 local emergencies have been declared. Last year at this time, 29 were declared.