$500 million mark in philanthropic giving passed by Lifestyles Magazine/Meaningful Influence cover subject Peter Gilgan

The early framing of what will become Mississauga’s first dedicated hospice center is now underway, marking a significant milestone for end-of-life care in one of North America’s fastest-growing cities.

Slated to open in Winter 2027, the Welton Center for Hospice Palliative Care reflects both a community-wide commitment to compassionate care and the continued evolution of one of the country’s most consequential philanthropic portfolios.

The project is being advanced with the support of The Peter Gilgan Foundation, whose latest gift—undisclosed but clearly significant—will establish dedicated Children and Youth Spaces for Hospice Mississauga’s Help Us Understand Grief (HUUG) program, an initiative that has become essential for families navigating loss, trauma, and life-limiting illness.

“It is well documented that Hospice Mississauga’s Help Us Understand Grief program makes a tremendous difference in the lives of children and youth,” said Stephanie Trussler, executive chair of The Peter Gilgan Foundation.

“This is why we are so proud to support the physical spaces that will allow this program to expand its reach and deepen its impact.”

For Peter Gilgan, the investment is emblematic of a philanthropic approach that has, over the past decade, positioned him among the most influential private donors in Canada.

Best known as the founder of Mattamy Homes—North America’s largest privately owned homebuilder—Gilgan has steadily translated commercial success into large-scale, high-impact giving, directing hundreds of millions of dollars toward healthcare infrastructure, pediatric care, climate solutions, and community-based support systems.

As previously profiled on the cover of Lifestyles Magazine / Meaningful Influence, Gilgan represents a distinct archetype of modern philanthropy: a builder-philanthropist whose giving is defined by scale, precision, and a focus on institutional transformation.

His record includes some of the largest gifts in Canadian healthcare history.

In 2019, the Peter Gilgan Foundation donated $100 million to Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children—SickKids—the largest single gift ever received by the institution, supporting a major campus redevelopment and the creation of the Peter Gilgan Family Patient Care Tower.

Earlier, he had committed $40 million to establish the SickKids Centre for Research and Learning, at the time the largest private donation ever made to a children’s hospital in Canada.

In 2014, he contributed $30 million toward the construction of a new patient care tower at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, further cementing his role as a leading benefactor to urban acute care.

In 2022, Gilgan made a historic $105 million gift to Mississauga’s Trillium Health Partners—the largest donation to a hospital in Canadian history—to help build what is expected to be Canada’s largest and most advanced hospital.

And in 2024, he pledged $50 million to create the Peter Gilgan Centre for Early Cancer Detection Research at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, the largest program of its kind in the world.

Through his foundation, he has also committed $100 million to climate solutions, described as the largest philanthropic contribution to climate action in Canadian history, aimed at accelerating the transition to a low‑carbon future and supporting vulnerable communities already experiencing the effects of climate change.

Taken together, Gilgan’s giving to healthcare, climate, education, and community causes now totals well over $500 million, placing him in a small group of Canadian philanthropists whose lifetime generosity ranks among the nation’s most significant.

His approach is notably infrastructure-driven, often prioritizing projects in which physical space can directly influence the quality of care and long-term systems change. From children’s hospitals to specialized treatment centers and now hospice environments, Gilgan’s philanthropy consistently targets settings where thoughtful design and programmatic innovation intersect.

At Hospice Mississauga, that philosophy is being applied to one of the most sensitive and under-resourced dimensions of care: how children and youth process grief.

The HUUG program delivered more than 865 support sessions last year alone, offering age-appropriate, evidence-based support for young people coping with bereavement or living alongside serious illness.

“Children experience grief just as deeply as adults, but it manifests differently at various stages of development,” said Kitrina Fex, CEO of Hospice Mississauga.

“Without these supports, the impacts of loss can affect their well-being well into adulthood. Our program has been a pioneer in developing approaches that meet children where they are.”

The new hospice center will integrate these services into a purpose-built environment that includes 12 specialized care suites designed to feel more like home than a hospital, as well as counseling, wellness programming, and caregiver support.

It will also serve as the central hub for Hospice Mississauga’s broader community services, which currently support more than 7,500 individuals annually.

For the Gilgan family, the decision to support these spaces reflects a broader understanding of where healthcare systems remain incomplete—particularly at the intersection of clinical care and emotional well-being.

“Our family and leadership team understand that organizations like Hospice Mississauga fill a vital role,” Trussler added.

“They operate at the intersection of health and social services, providing care that extends beyond the clinical into the emotional and human experience.”

The foundation’s involvement also carries a catalytic effect, reinforcing a pattern seen across Gilgan’s philanthropic history: early, substantial commitments that help anchor major projects and encourage broader participation.

Hospice Mississauga leadership has emphasized that this gift is intended not only to enable construction but also to inspire additional support from across the community.

As the structure begins to rise, the Welton Center stands as a continuation of Peter Gilgan’s evolving legacy—one that increasingly prioritizes not just extending life but improving the conditions in which life’s most difficult moments are experienced.

In focusing on children, youth, and families at the margins of traditional care models, this latest investment underscores a defining principle of his philanthropy: that the most meaningful interventions are often those that address needs others have yet to fully see.