By Mzwandile Poncana, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Mississauga.com
August 26, 2025
Questions are being raised about a major construction contract for the new Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital, after a U.S. company reportedly secured a $140-million façade subcontract.
Industry groups and unions say the decision risks outsourcing jobs and materials outside Canada, while hospital officials and the province maintain the project will boost Mississauga’s economy for years to come.
The 2.8-million-square-foot redevelopment is the largest health-care infrastructure project in Canadian history. Plans include a 22-storey patient tower with more than 950 beds, nine new operating rooms and a larger neonatal intensive care unit.
The hospital will also feature one of Ontario’s largest emergency departments. Procurement for the project is being overseen by Infrastructure Ontario, with the construction team, EllisDon+PCL Healthcare Partners, leading construction.
Local firms lose out
Blake Sanders, president of the Ontario Glass and Metal Association, said the façade contract was awarded to Benson/Permasteelisa, a U.S.-owned firm.
“Benson/Permasteelisa owns a curtain-wall manufacturing division, which is physically located in Mexico, and produced the curtain wall components for all their previous jobs. I would expect this project to be the same as there is no history to indicate differently,” Sanders said.
He said two other Ontario-based companies — Flynn Canada and Harmon Brampton — bid on the contract, but were unsuccessful. He also noted Harmon Brampton announced its closure two days after it learned it did not win the bid.
Sanders estimated that if a Canadian firm had secured the contract, the economic ripple effects could have touched close to 1,000 jobs across the GTA — spanning subcontractors, suppliers and logistics companies.
He pointed to examples like Harmon Brampton, which had more than 250 jobs. Beyond direct employment, he noted that many subcontractors rely on a network of smaller suppliers, from fabricators to trucking companies. Each of those firms would employ additional workers and generate local business activity.
“You also have the tax collected from their incomes, as well as all the sales tax collected from all the subcontractors used,” Sanders said. “I would estimate that money collected and put into our economy is significantly higher than the $26-million overbid by the Canadian companies to complete the project.”
He added Ontario should consider a Canadian version of the United States’ Build America, Buy America rules.
“This mandate would ensure that 90 per cent of anything Canadian taxpayer-funded is manufactured by Canadians.”
‘Public projects must create local jobs’
The Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario and the Construction Employers Coordinating Council of Ontario called it “deeply concerning” that a $140-million contract may go to a U.S. firm.
“Our message is clear: public projects must create local jobs … strengthen our economy and showcase the world-class capabilities of our workforce here at home,” they said in an emailed statement to Mississauga News.
Trillium Health Partners (THP), the health network building the new Mississauga hospital, did not address questions about the façade contract, including whether any of the work will be completed outside Canada or how much of the $140 million will directly benefit Peel. In an emailed response, the hospital referred procurement questions to Infrastructure Ontario and EllisDon+PCL Healthcare Partners.
THP did highlight the project’s broader economic impact, saying it is expected to add 2,400 new health professionals and more than 400 doctors, and generate more than $1 billion for Mississauga’s economy over the next decade.
Hospital builders defend contract award
EllisDon+PCL Healthcare Partners confirmed the façade subcontract was awarded to Benson Global, a subsidiary of Permasteelisa, which will carry out the work under its Canadian entity, Bleu Tech Montreal Inc.
Mississauga News asked EllisDon+PCL whether any of the façade fabrication would be completed outside Canada, why Benson was chosen over Ontario-based bidders and how much of the $140 million would directly benefit the Peel economy.
In an emailed response, the group did not directly answer those questions, citing the need to protect the integrity of the procurement process, but said subcontractors are evaluated on experience, safety records, financial stability and competitive pricing.
The group also stressed that all labour will be local and unionized.
“At the peak of construction, we anticipate up to 3,000 workers to be on site daily,” the response said.
Opposition MPPs raise policy concerns
The controversy has also caught the attention of opposition politicians.
In an Aug. 12 letter to Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma, NDP MPPs Jessica Bell and Catherine Fife wrote that awarding a $140-million subcontract to a U.S.-owned company “is clearly in violation of the spirit” of Ontario’s new Procurement Restriction Policy, introduced in March in response to escalating U.S. tariffs.
“Now is not the time for half-measures,” the letter said. “To stabilize our economy, the Ontario government needs to show leadership and meaningfully leverage its purchasing clout to build and upgrade critical public infrastructure, giving preference to Ontario workers and Ontario businesses.”
The policy bars U.S. firms from public contracts, but Bell and Fife noted it contains exemptions for American companies with at least 250 employees in Canada. They urged the government to investigate whether the Mississauga hospital subcontract complied, and called for a stronger “Buy Canada, Build Canada” plan to close loopholes.
Sanders said the Mississauga hospital is not the only project where these concerns are emerging.
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He pointed to the new Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus redevelopment, a $150-million to $200-million project now out for bids, where both American and Canadian companies are competing. He added that the OGMA is contacting the premier’s office to urge revisions to the bidder list so only Canadian firms can participate.
