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Ottawa's Royal Launches $75 Million Fundraising Campaign for Mental Health Research and Urgent Care
The Royal, Ottawa's mental health centre, started its 'Lives Reclaimed' campaign on Tuesday seeking $75 million in donations. The funds will support research into suicide risk biomarkers and brain imaging, plus a new urgent care clinic. The Waverley House Foundation donated $14 million, with a potential additional $1 million if 15,000 donations are reached.
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OTTAWA — The Royal, Ottawa's leading mental health centre, launched its 'Lives Reclaimed' fundraising campaign on Tuesday, aiming to raise $75 million for urgent care services and research into brain imaging and physical signs of suicide risk. The campaign seeks to help more people reclaim their lives from mental illness and addiction, according to a news release from the centre.
Donations will fund studies on biomarkers — defined as any cellular, molecular, chemical or physical change that can be measured and used to study a normal or abnormal process in the body, per the Canadian Cancer Society — and how they may relate to someone's risk of suicide.
Researchers at The Royal also plan to explore how brain scans can personalize treatment for patients. Part of the initiative will pay for a new urgent care clinic at the centre, providing specialized support for individuals in crisis. The clinic addresses the growing need for immediate intervention, as The Royal treats an average of 15,000 people each year.
If the campaign secures 15,000 donations — matching that annual patient figure — the Waverley House Foundation has pledged an additional $1 million. The Waverley House Foundation, which supports mental health research, announced a $14 million donation to the campaign on Tuesday. Bruce McKean, the foundation's founder, is a retired diplomat and early supporter of Shopify.
His contribution marks one of the largest early commitments to the effort, bolstering the centre's push for innovative care. A community cabinet of volunteers has rallied behind the campaign, including Hockey Hall of Famer Daniel Alfredsson and former governor general David Johnston.
