Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
NORTH GLENGARRY – The North Glengarry community was left reeling last week after learning that privately owned company Southbridge Care Homes is seeking approval from the Ministry of Long-Term Care to consolidate three of their current homes into a new 320 bed facility located across the street from Southbridge Cornwall located at 800 Nick Kaneb Drive.
If this project is approved, the new building will provide upgrades to 248 existing beds, including 118 consolidated from Heartwood in Cornwall, 60 from Pinecrest in Plantagenet, and 70 from The Palace in Alexandria. The new home, along with Southbridge Cornwall’s existing 160 beds, will bring the total number of beds run by Southbridge in Cornwall to 480.
In a comment to The Record, North Glengarry Mayor Jamie MacDonald shared that he found it “disturbing” that the township had to learn about Southbridge’s application to the Ministry of Long-Term Care on social media. Southbridge Care Homes has not reached out to the township for alternative options, such as land or funds, to keep residents close to home.
As part of the Ministry of Long-Term Care’s approval process, a public consultation is taking place until Oct. 16. Feedback can be provided by email or regular mail as follows:
Email: LTCHomes.Licensing@bursonglobal.com
Regular Mail: MLTC Long-Term Care Licence Consultations, c/o Burson Canada, 45 O’Connor Street, Suite 1240, Ottawa, ON K1P 1A4
Please reference Southbridge Cornwall 2 and Project #26-017.
In addition to these options for feedback, a public consultation Zoom meeting was also held by the Ministry of Long-Term Care on Sept. 29, 2026, at 1 p.m. However, residents’ families expressed frustration that they didn’t know about the plan for the new home in Cornwall or the consultation in advance.
A petition on change.org titled ‘Keep The Palace LTC in Alexandria ON open’ has 802 signatures at the time of writing.
Concerns about this development are numerous. Aging residents of North Glengarry deserve to stay close to home. Family who visit residents of The Palace may not be able to make it to Cornwall as often, affecting residents’ quality of life.
Cornwall residents who live in the neighbourhood where this new home will be built have concerns of their own. Southbridge Care Homes recently received a minor variance approval from the Cornwall City Council’s Committee of Adjustment allowing for a zoning height limit increase from 13.5 meters to 24.4 meters. The new development will be a six-story building, resulting in concerns about privacy and lower property values.
There are also questions about Southbridge’s ability to staff such a big facility in Cornwall, whether the quality of care will remain the same, and whether the Cornwall Community Hospital will be able to handle the influx of this many residents requiring healthcare services.
MPP for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, Stéphane Sarrazin, expressed that while losing beds in Alexandria is not ideal, important upgrades (HVAC systems and water sprinklers, for example) are needed in many older long term care facilities to maintain residents’ safety. Sarrazin also pointed out that The Palace, Heartwood, and Pinecrest will not shut down until approximately fall 2029, when the new home is expected to open.
“At the end of the day, I can surely understand that people are really worried about losing a long-term care facility right in town, but there’s more to it than just closing these places to bring them to a new building,” said Sarrazin.
“I visited the Dundas Manor before it opens a couple weeks ago and we can see there’s a lot of innovation in these new buildings. There’s actually equipment that monitors the movement of the resident,” Sarrazin explained, “With artificial intelligence, they analyze the routine of the resident, and they can actually report if a resident falls off the bed.”
The province of Ontario is currently committed to creating 58,000 new and upgraded long term care beds, as well as providing the staffing needed to care for those aging residents. As of February 2026, 164 projects totaling 26,000 beds have opened, are under construction, or have been approved for construction by the Ministry of Long-Term Care.
Graduated from University of Ottawa with a BA in Communications, minor in psychology in 2015. Passionate about sharing stories, supporting businesses/ entrepreneurs. Started in freelance work writing about the crowdfunding industry and worked in marketing prior to writing for Seaway News in 2022/23. Married with three boys, a dog and cat. Enjoys reading and crochet, is a certified yoga instructor. Even though I am from Cornwall, my family enjoys taking day trips in the area and I was born and raised here. I look forward to getting to know North Stormont better and report on community events/highlights, as well as issues that concern residents.
