There were warm hugs and emotional tears this morning — all before most had finished their second cup of coffee — as The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital featured inspiring stories of innovative research and compassionate care.

The 500 leaders left the event with at least one prevailing feeling: hope for the future of healthcare.

Foundation president and CEO Tim Kluke later remarked that he wished more people could have shared in the breakfast, understanding how impactful it had been. “I wish the entire community of Ottawa — your colleagues, your friends, your neighbours, your peers — could have heard the stories we heard today,” he said from the stage at Rogers Centre Ottawa.

“I think what today has truly showcased is how The Ottawa Hospital rises to the moment with specialized care, life-changing care when it matters most, often when there are no other options or no time to wait.”

Kluke provided an update on the $500-million Campaign To Create Tomorrow that will contribute to the creation of the new hospital campus near Dow’s Lake. The campaign — the largest ever in the region — has reached the $366-million mark since it was first launched in 2022.

The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital was held at Rogers Centre Ottawa on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. Photo by Caroline Phillips

As Lisa Setlakwe, assistant deputy minister of safety and security with Transport Canada, reminded everyone, the campaign “is about more than bricks and mortar. It’s about making sure everyone has access to exceptional care when it matters most.”

Setlakwe co-chaired the breakfast with Taryn Gunnlaugson, senior investment counsellor and portfolio manager with BMO Private Wealth. Gunnlaugson joined the board of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation after losing her father to cancer in 2022. She was so grateful for the care he received that she decided to give back to the hospital.

“Despite the ungodly hour they wanted me here this morning, this is my favourite event,” she told the room with a smile. “I love this energy in the room, and just seeing it filled to capacity for such an important cause. It really is heartwarming.”

The co-chairs asked attendees to consider pledging $1,200, or $100 a month. “Of course, more is fine,” they made sure to add.

The breakfast raised a total of $602,000.

Lindsay Hockey from Colliers Canada and his wife Nickola agreed to match up to $50,000 in donations.

Taryn Gunnlaugson (BMO Private Wealth) and Lisa Setlakwe (Transport Canada) co-chaired The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Ottawa Hospital Foundation board vice-chair (and former event co-chair) Mark Noonan (Deloitte), The Ottawa Hospital’s president and CEO, Cameron Love, The Ottawa Hospital Foundation’s board chair, Janet McKeage (RBC PH&N Investment Counsel) and The Ottawa Hospital Foundation’s president and CEO, Tim Kluke. Attendees were hosted by volunteer table captains, each of whom donned a white lab coat. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The Ottawa Hospital’s president and CEO, Cameron Love, addressed the need to reshape healthcare. With close to 30 years of experience at the hospital, he has spoken to thousands of patients and families. Most of those conversations have been inspiring and heartwarming, “about how our team has helped them through some of the most difficult times in their lives,” he said.

“Unfortunately, over the last five years, I’ve also seen too often the challenges faced by our community,” he said, citing issues such as finding a family doctor, long wait times for surgery or diagnostic imaging, and other obstacles. “If we’re going to do a better job for our healthcare system, we have to challenge the systems and models that have been here for decades. We must break down historical silos, and not just talk about building a hospital, but about creating a better integrated healthcare system that cares for people before they get to hospital, while they’re in hospital and after they leave.”

The audience listened to the ups and downs of Erin Brown’s cancer story. She was diagnosed with a never-ever-seen-before brain tumour at 21 while a kinesiology student at uOttawa. Brown, now working as a nurse and engaged to be married, spoke about the compassionate treatment she received from The Ottawa Hospital’s Dr. Safraz Mohammed, a neurosurgeon specializing in brain and spine. Dr. Mohammed determined that it was necessary to remove the tumour, despite the risks, due to its life-threatening location.

Erin Brown shared her patient testimonial at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The audience delivered a standing ovation to Erin Brown after she courageously delivered her patient testimonial at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

“After six hours of blood, sweat and tears, the tumour was gone. It was all Erin’s blood, my sweat and the family’s tears,” said Dr. Mohammed, who embodied the human side of medicine.

“Whether I’m operating on a billionaire, a scholar, an unhoused member of the community, or anyone in between, I am reminded that beneath the skin we are all the same … At The Ottawa Hospital, we treat patients like family,” he added.

The crowd also heard from Jennifer Hollington, a five-year survivor of ovarian cancer. “I could not be here cancer-free if not for the care of so many people at The Ottawa Hospital,” she said. “Many of you gathered here today have supported and continue to support the research that gave me a second and third chance at life and ultimately, the time to enjoy life with my husband, my son and my daughter.”

Said Hollington: “Research isn’t just something that happens in labs. It’s deeply personal. It has the power to save lives. It saved mine.”

Jennifer Hollington bravely shared her patient testimonial at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The audience delivered a standing ovation to Jennifer Hollington after she courageously delivered her patient testimonial at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Dr. Rebecca Auer, executive vice-president of research and innovation at The Ottawa Hospital and CEO and scientific director of The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, shared her own family’s cancer journey involving her husband, Adam.

It all started when he experienced stomach pains while they were on a ski holiday with their three boys at Jay Peak Resort in April 2022. Dr. Auer recounted his brave attitude on the night he was diagnosed. As they lay in shock together, she told him, “This was not the script we wrote for our lives.”

Adam replied, “Sweetie, you don’t get to write the script. You just get to play the part. And I don’t know about you, but I plan to go for an Academy Award.”

It was Dr. Auer’s good friend and mentor, Dr. John Bell, who gave her “a quiet whisper of hope”, reminding her of the rapid advancements in biotherapies and other treatments. The Ottawa Hospital is one of the most research-intensive hospitals in Canada.

“Adam is alive today thanks to research at The Ottawa Hospital, and if his cancer progresses, I know research will again offer us hope,” said Dr. Auer.

Dr. Rebecca Auer gave Ottawa entrepreneur Catherine Clark, who’s also on the board of The Ottawa Hospital, a hug after the physician spoke at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Dr. Rebecca Auer, former prime minister Joe Clark and his daughter, table host Catherine Clark (Catherine Clark Communications, board member with The Ottawa Hospital) and her mother, Maureen McTeer, and husband Chad Schella (CIBC) at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, co-chair of the Campaign to Create Tomorrow, spoke at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Jennifer Van Noort, chief development officer at The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, with campaign executive member Dr. Pradeep Merchant and Ottawa Hospital Foundation board members Richard Roth (GFL Environmental) and Nadir Patel (Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Fairfax Consulting Services) at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, Ottawa Hospital president and CEO Cameron Love and the mayor’s wife, Ginny Sutcliffe, at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, table captain Sarah Vandenbelt (Paradigm Commercial) , and Layla Darwish (BMO Commercial Bank) at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Jeff Waring (ADM, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada) and table captain Mark Schaan (deputy secretary to the Cabinet (Artificial Intelligence) at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Cameron Love, president and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital, addressed the room at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Michelle Richardson (chief impact officer, the Royal Canadian Mint) with her colleague and table captain,  Ottawa Hospital Foundation board member Tom Froggatt (chief commercial officer) and Marie Lemay, president and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint, at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The Ottawa Hospital’s Dr. Safraz Mohammed, a neurosurgeon specializing in brain and spine, spoke at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, table captain Tony Cook and Paul Knowles, both with PCL Construction, at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Steve Gallant (Gallant MacDonald at Wellington-Altus Private),  Ottawa Hospital Foundation board members Russ Jones (former CFO of Shopify) and Tim Saunders (independent director and advisor) at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Reba Wilson (Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties Inc.) and entrepreneur Ginger Bertrand, co-chair of the Campaign to Create Tomorrow for The Ottawa Hospital, at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Taryn Gunnlaugson (BMO Private Wealth) and Lisa Setlakwe (Transport Canada) co-chaired The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, retired Canadian general Wayne Eyre, former prime minister Joe Clark and Dr. Fady Balaa, chair of the department of surgery at The Ottawa Hospital, at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Ottawa Hospital Foundation board members Mychelle Mollot (CrashPlan) and Jennifer Stewart (Syntax Strategic) at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, GBA Group president Graham Bird — a former breakfast co-chair — and geotechnical engineer Carlos Da Silva at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Tim Kluke, president and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation addressed the room at The President’s Breakfast in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips

This article is made possible through sponsorship from Star Motors, WCPD, Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties, ExecHealth, Infinity Convention Centre, Altis Recruitment, Bell Canada, First Avenue Investment Counsel, RBC, Welch LLP, Brazeau Seller Law.

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