Thunder Bay Art Gallery opening changed to 2027

THUNDER BAY — If the sign posted at the construction site of the new Thunder Bay Art Gallery – “Opening 2025” – was accurate, the work still left to be done would have be conducted at warp speed.

In fact, the sign is badly out-of-date, as the project is now expected to be completed in 2027.

Lesley Bell, interim chair of the gallery’s board since the end of January, told Newswatch “We don’t 100 per cent have it nailed down, but we’re hoping for early 2027.”

She cited multiple reasons for the longer timeline, but said construction is ongoing.

“It’s moving forward. If you come down to the site, which I do a couple times a week, you’ll see there are construction workers on the site, the foundation is finished, the roof is finished, there’s work going on inside, so the construction is moving along.”

Less than a year ago, the gallery’s executive director, Matthew Hills, was expressing confidence the new building would open in early 2026.

Bell has also confirmed the cost of the project has increased.

In 2022, the estimated cost was $50 million, but when construction began in the summer of 2023, it had escalated to $57 million.

“It will definitely be higher than 57 million, absolutely, but I can’t give you the exact figure,” Bell said in an interview.

“We started construction in July 2023, and that was right in the middle of COVID. And yes, there have been a lot of challenges. Prices have gone up because of COVID, supply-chain issues, the availability of trades…And one of the things that we don’t even know anything about is how the tariffs are going to affect us.”

She also noted that federal funding from the Infrastructure Canada’s green and inclusive community buildings program required significant changes to the building’s design, “because it’s now a carbon-neutral building, and that has extended the construction time for sure.”

To date, the federal government has contributed nearly $36 million, while the province and the City of Thunder Bay have provided almost $6 million each. 

The gallery has also been raising funds in the community, with a goal of $5 million.

But Bell said additional money will be needed to complete the project because of rising costs, and that requires going farther afield for contributions.

“We had a target for raising funds in the community, but we’ve actually put a lot of work into developing a very fulsome fundraising plan, and we are going to be looking Canada-wide. Because, as you know, we have some significant artists in our collection. For example, Norval Morrisseau.”

Bell said the gallery will also be reaching out to previous donors as well as to groups that have not been approached yet. 

She declined to discuss details of the expanded appeal but said the gallery will make an announcement soon.

“As a board, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about this project. It is our number one priority. We are extremely focused on it and we are absolutely committed to making this happen.”

Bell said when the new gallery opens it will be the jewel of the city’s waterfront, and – in combination with a planned Science North building and the cruise ship facilities – will become “an incredible destination” for local residents and visitors.