In 1910, The Women’s Institute of Brampton came together with an ambitious vision—to build the community’s first hospital.
That same community brought this vision to life. Passionate citizens and leaders mobilized around the idea, working together to build the small hospital that would eventually grow to impact millions of lives.
One hundred years ago, Peel Memorial Hospital opened its doors for the first time, changing the landscape of health care in Brampton and surrounding communities forever.
Peel Memorial Hospital, named to honour the veterans of World War I, opened on February 2, 1925. It operated out of the William Elliott Estate house on a three-and-a-half-acre property in Brampton, that was purchased for $8,500.
With five staff, 12 beds, and a nursery with room for three babies, there were 156 patients admitted, 21 births, and 53 operations performed in its first year.
This humble hospital quickly grew, along with the population. In 1932, an addition was built on the house and 50 beds were added. By 1949, the first Emergency Department and X-ray rooms were built, and the hospital expanded to 128 beds. In 1962, the Elliott estate house was demolished and new wings were built to serve the Brampton community.
Since then, Peel Memorial has continued to evolve, achieving many notable milestones along the way, including becoming the first hospital in Ontario to open a community psychiatric ward in 1962 and opening one of the first COVID-19 Assessment Centres in Ontario during the pandemic in 2020.
In 2007, Peel Memorial Hospital was temporarily closed with the opening of the new Brampton Civic Hospital. In 2011, Peel Memorial Hospital was demolished to build Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health & Wellness, which opened in 2017—the first of a two-part redevelopment plan to build the new Peel Memorial Hospital.
Now, along with Brampton Civic Hospital and Etobicoke General Hospital, Peel Memorial is part of William Osler Health System (Osler), a leading hospital system that serves more than 1.3 million people in Brampton, Etobicoke, Caledon and surrounding communities—one of the most culturally diverse, fastest growing areas in Ontario.
Throughout its history, Peel Memorial has consistently evolved to meet the ever-changing needs of the people it serves. However, one thing has never changed—for 100 years, community members have been the heart and soul of Peel Memorial, championing it every step of the way.
From the beginning, it was the community that stepped forward to build Peel Memorial, and its 100-year legacy is only possible because of contributions, great and small, from many community members along the way.