Ontario Construction News staff writer
Orillia city council has directed staff to obtain independent legal advice as the city works to finalize agreements involving University Avenue lands and the proposed site of a new Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.
The direction follows a council resolution approved Aug. 5, 2026. The legal advice will support the preparation and completion of definitive agreements involving the city, Lakehead University and Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.
Mayor Don McIsaac said the city wants to proceed with both the university campus expansion and the new hospital while ensuring the agreements are properly completed.
“Orillia will have a growing campus, and Orillia will have a new hospital,” McIsaac said in a statement. “Our residents deserve both, done properly.”
The city said the three organizations remain committed to expanded university enrolment in Orillia and a new hospital for the region.
The legal work will proceed alongside hospital planning through the provincial capital process, the city said in a statement.