YORKTON — A long hoped for new hospital in Yorkton has become an NDP promise years ahead of a likely provincial election in 2028.
On the sidewalk in front of the Yorkton Regional Hospital Jared Clarke, Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Minister for Rural & Remote Health made the announcement the party will build the new hospital in Yorkton that the Sask. Party has promised but has yet to announce a start date, exact location, or exact cost to the city.
Yorkton “has waited far too long,” he said.
Clarke said while health care workers are doing their best at the facility the current hospital – built in 1962 — is clearly inadequate to keep up with the region’s healthcare demands.
“The facility . . . is unable to meet today’s needs,” said Clarke.
Clarke said on a recent tour of the facility they saw the issues first hand citing the emergency room is too small, acute care rooms are overcrowded, and there aren’t enough pediatric, cancer or mental health spaces. He added, the maternity ward does not have hot water. The hospital’s HVAC system, laboratories and ambulance entrance also need major work. Patients don’t have access to internet.
Clarke’s announcement went a step farther suggesting NDP support for associated infrastructure to make a new hospital a success.
“We’re ready to build — not just a hospital, but the necessary infrastructure to staff it. It will have housing and upgrades to the needed municipal infrastructure, like the wastewater treatment plant,” he said.
Clarke also said the NDP wants local input into planning the build to ensure it fulfills local and regional needs, noting the hospital services a large area across east central Saskatchewan and western Manitoba, providing maternity services, cancer care, diagnostic services and dialysis.
It was a theme picked up on by Aleana Young, Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Minister for Jobs and the Economy at the announcement in Yorkton.
Young said the NDP “wants to work in real collaboration with local leaders and citizens to get it right.”
At this point such collaboration is lacking, offered Young, adding instead, all this government can show for 18 years in office are broken election year promises.”
Young said a new hospital plays into building the city’s future too.
“Yorkton is a place to grow,” she said, adding a new hospital supports that growth.
Ross Fisher, Executive Director of The Health Foundation welcomed the promise.
“The Health Foundation is glad to hear the NDP would consult with the community in advance of building a new hospital. We are also glad to see their commitment to build a new hospital should they form government. There seems to be a consensus forming among all political parties that a new regional hospital in Yorkton needs to be addressed sooner than later,” Fisher told Yorkton This Week.
“The Health Foundation has been working to expand healthcare services in advance of building a new regional hospital.”
Yorkton Mayor Aaron Kienle avoided being partisan and simply reiterated there is a need.
“Healthcare in Yorkton is vital to our residents and our region,” he said. “The City has long recognized the importance of a new hospital and is actively planning for its future, including the establishment of a hospital levy and a partnership with the Farming for Health Project.
“The City remains committed to long-term planning, regional collaboration, and investment that support the health and well-being of residents across Yorkton and the surrounding area, and to advocating for the people we serve.”
Clarke alluded to the long period of work toward a new hospital in Yorkton during the announcement.
Formal discussion about replacing the hospital began in 2011 with conceptual plans presented to the public in 2012.
Clarke noted, the Sask. Party made the community “fundraise for a six-figure feasibility study, and then shelved it.”
Thirteen years later, the Minister of Health told media the project is still in the ‘scoping portion’ but made no commitment to begin construction. In July 2025, the government announced $1 million to develop a business case – another in a long series of delays, detailed an NDP release following Clarke’s announcement.
As for how much an NDP-led new hospital might cost, Clarke said that is still to be determined, noting the 2012 study is out-dated, and there needs to be discussions with the community to determine what is required locally, to be sure “the people of Yorkton are getting the health care they deserve.”
