Ontario Breaks Ground on New Emergency Services Aircraft Facility in Simcoe County
(Today’s Northumberland file photo)
New Ornge-OPP hangar will improve emergency response times across the province and support approximately 200 good-paying construction jobs in the region
The Ontario government has officially broken ground on the new Ornge and Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) emergency services aircraft hangar at Lake Simcoe Regional Airport. Backed by a $56.3 million provincial investment, the nearly 100,000-square-foot facility will house Ornge’s two new fixed-wing Special Mission Aircraft, four OPP helicopters and four OPP fixed-wing aircraft, helping strengthen emergency response capabilities and connect more families in rural, Northern and remote communities to emergency services when they need it most.
“As part of our plan to protect Ontario, our government is ensuring Ornge has the resources it needs to deliver fast, life-saving care to patients facing medical emergencies,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “The state-of-the-art Ornge-OPP hangar will provide a strategically located hub for Ornge’s new high-speed, long-distance Special Mission Aircraft, and ensure timely emergency care is available across Ontario for generations to come.”
The new state-of-the-art hangar will house ten emergency support aircraft, providing emergency response coverage across the province. By bringing together air ambulance and policing aviation services at this strategic location, the new hangar will streamline logistics to deploy critical care and law enforcement resources faster, speeding up response times to life-threatening situations such as car accidents, heart attacks and strokes. Construction on the hangar is set to be completed in winter 2027 and will support approximately 200 good-paying construction jobs in the region.
“When an emergency strikes, every second counts, and our government is committed to ensuring our frontline responders are ready to answer the call,” said Solicitor General Michael Kerzner. “We are making strategic investments to strengthen the OPP’s aviation capabilities and ensuring our frontline heroes have the tools and resources they need to protect Ontario. By bringing the OPP and Ornge together under one roof, we’re strengthening emergency response, supporting faster deployments and helping keep communities safe in every corner of our province.”
OPP Aviation Services operates a fleet of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft that support frontline policing, specialized investigations, search and rescue operations, tactical deployments, personnel transportation and emergency response efforts across Ontario. The shared facility represents a long-term investment in Ontario’s emergency response infrastructure and will support the continued delivery of aviation services across the province.
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Quick Facts
- Ornge is Ontario’s provincial air ambulance and critical care land ambulance (CCLA) service provider and provides a range of air paramedical services including moving patients between health-care facilities, responding to emergency on-scene incidents, and supporting health care in northern and rural communities.
- Ornge plays a key role in access to care for the province’s northern and rural communities with approximately 98 per cent of Ornge’s fixed-wing patient transports originating in northern Ontario.
- Ornge conducts approximately 22,000 air ambulance and land ambulance patient transports per year from nine air bases and five critical care land bases across the province.
- The new hangar and Special Mission Aircraft are in addition to the $118 million investment announced in 2023 to expand Ornge’s fixed wing fleet to 12 aircraft, including the replacement of the existing eight fixed wing fleet, and purchase of an expanded hangar in Sudbury to house the new aircraft.
- The Ornge Air Ambulance fleet will expand to 14 fixed wing aircraft by 2030, with the first of the new aircraft anticipated to arrive before the end of 2026.
- OPP aircraft are routinely deployed for search and rescue missions, missing person investigations, emergency response, surveillance operations, tactical deployments, and transportation of personnel and prisoners.
- OPP aviation assets collectively fly approximately 4,000 hours annually in support of policing and public safety operations across Ontario.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love