Québec City Comprehensive Cancer Centre informs the design of CancerCare Manitoba’s future outpatient centre in Winnipeg
In its November 2026 issue, Canadian Architect magazine features the Québec City Comprehensive Cancer Centre—a major component of the CHU de Québec – Université Laval’s new hospital complex, on which Jodoin Lamarre Pratte architectes was responsible for the design within the Groupe A + DMG + Lemay + Jodoin Lamarre Pratte + NFOE + GLCRM architectes en consortium team—as one of two projects informing the planning of CancerCare CancerCare Manitoba’s new outpatient building in Winnipeg.
Titled “Places of Healing,” the article by Kyle Lewkowich, director of infrastructure and environment at CancerCare Manitoba, also draws on the analysis of another Canadian project: the Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Calgary.
Design choices held up as models
As Mr. Lewkowich points out, healthcare is among the most technically demanding fields of expertise in architecture. Cancer centres present particularly distinct challenges, and he examines the main drivers that shape their design, beginning with the “clinical triad”: consultation clinics, where patients are examined and assessed; radiation therapy areas, which house high-technology equipment; and chemotherapy and hematology areas, which include procedure rooms, the oncology pharmacy and the hematology lab, among others.
Several design choices made in Québec City are highlighted. The radiation treatment vaults, set against the main building volume and partially below grade, reduce structural costs while shielding adjacent spaces from radiation. In the clinics, exam rooms are arranged around the perimeter, encircling a central workspace reserved for medical staff. Day-treatment areas line the façades, giving patients maximum natural light and views to the outdoors.
The article also underscores the role of art in the patient experience. The inner courtyard is enlivened by a monumental sculpture by Patrick Beaulieu, visible from every floor. Inside, Ivan Binet’s large backlit photographic montages, depicting Quebec’s natural landscapes, serve as landmarks at strategic points throughout the building.
Inaugurated in 2022 and officially completed in 2025, the Québec City Comprehensive Cancer Centre is the largest cancer centre in the province and one of the largest in Canada. Its design is organized around a large landscaped inner courtyard, tiered over four levels, so that every treatment space enjoys views of the rooftop gardens and patients, staff and visitors can access terraces.
Two decades of expertise
With seven major projects delivered over the past two decades, the design of comprehensive cancer centres has become one of the firm’s leading areas of expertise, establishing it as a reference in this field and, more broadly, in healthcare. In addition to the Québec City Comprehensive Cancer Centre, the firm has completed major oncology projects at Rouyn-Noranda Hospital, Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis, Cité-de-la-Santé Hospital in Laval, Hôpital Charles-Le Moyne, the Jewish General Hospital and Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont.
In 2024, a delegation from the firm visited the Calgary centre as part of a Canadian Centre for Healthcare Facilities conference. It is inspiring to see these two projects now brought together as references for CancerCare Manitoba’s future outpatient centre, to the benefit of patients, their families and care teams in Winnipeg.