Establish and build the Waterloo Eye Institute as Canada’s leading eye and vision care centre of excellence.
Objectives
- Provide exceptional care to patients through the continuum of eye and vision care from wellness to rehabilitation.
- Modernize clinic technology and infrastructure, including clinical research infrastructure.
- Bring new techniques and treatments from the lab to the clinic through a cross-disciplinary research program that enhances the delivery of patient care and creates global impact.
- Develop the Waterloo Eye Institute Teleoptometry Centre to increase access to comprehensive remote eye care and provide infrastructure for best-practice clinical education.
- Build upon the strengths of the Waterloo Eye Institute Seeing Beyond 20/20 campaign to more deeply engage with alumni, the optometric profession, industry, government and philanthropic groups.
- Successfully operationalize building phasing and completion with minimal disruption to the School’s multiple missions.
Printable version
Goal 1: Accomplishments
Construction of the WEI and move to interim clinic
We are building a new national centre of excellence in optometric patient care, vision research and clinical education.
The Waterloo Eye Institute is a once-in-a-generation, $53 million initiative that will create 68,000 square feet of new and renovated space that will improve patient experience, modernize our facilities and create space for new vision research centres and teleoptometry.
In spring 2024, Harbridge and Cross was chosen as the contractor to build the Waterloo Eye Institute. After a ceremonial groundbreaking in June 2024, construction on the exterior began in the summer with work being done to prepare the site.
The Waterloo location of the Waterloo Eye Institute Optometry Clinic closed at its original campus location on October 11, 2024. Over the period of a week, under the direction of a dedicated project manager, we moved operations to a nearby interim location to allow patient care and clinical education to continue with minimal disruption during construction. A comprehensive communications plan was deployed to inform stakeholders about the move and its implications.
The interim location, just a few minutes away, opened on October 21, 2024, and patient care began the same day. Since the move, patient numbers have remained steady and patient experience survey scores have slightly risen.
Construction at 200 Columbia St. W. has been going smoothly, and as of May 2025, is on track for a completion date of late 2026.
Technology for diagnosis and treatment
Five new pieces of state-of-the-art equipment were added to the Waterloo Clinic in 2024-25, thanks to a $800,000 donation by the FDC Foundation, which supports charitable organizations in the areas of health, education and housing.
The technology enables sophisticated imaging of the retina at the back of the eye and the cornea at the front of the eye, as well as measuring factors, such as the length of the eyeball, that affect the progression of myopia. One piece of equipment adds intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy to our suite of tools to manage dry eye disease.
In addition, we have expanded our dry eye treatment options to include amniotic membrane treatment for cases involving corneal pathology. With IPL therapy, these advanced, non-invasive options offer improved outcomes for patients with chronic or complex ocular surface disease. ocular surface disease.
Fundraising
As of April 30, 2025, we have raised $29.4 million of our $35 million fundraising goal to build the Waterloo Eye Institute (WEI). More than 1,000 individuals have donated, from students to multinational corporations. Between May 1, 2024 and April 30, 2025, more than $3.3 million was raised for the WEI. In total, the School raised $4.6 million during the same period for all purposes.
We thank all our donors, with special recognition to the following for their gifts or pledges of $100,000 or more in 2024-25:
- FDC Foundation
- Mike Stork
- HOYA Vision Care Canada
- Ihnatowycz Family Foundation
- Anonymous donor
Total funds raised for WEI as of April 2025
donors
of donors are alumni
Goal 1: In progress
Engaging with a national eye care strategy
Bill C-284, which calls for a national strategy for eye care, was given royal assent in November 2024. We took a moment to savour the milestone, which came after years of advocacy led by the Canadian Association of Optometrists (CAO).
However, passage of the bill was just the beginning – it started the clock on the 18 months the Minister of Health has to table a framework for what Canada will prioritize in eye and vision care. This represents a pivotal time for the profession, patients and the nation, so it’s essential optometrists have a strong voice.
The CAO is spearheading federal advocacy efforts with stakeholder groups and the School is fully supportive and engaged. We are doing our part to help by convening stakeholders to gather the ideas and priorities of eye care stakeholders. In April 2025, we met with about 20 industry representatives for a Blue Sky Summit to review the areas highlighted in the national strategy and seek common ground. We shared results widely with provincial associations to encourage dialogue through the spring, leading up to the CAO Congress in July 2025.