The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto has announced a gift of $40 million from Peter Gilgan, founder and CEO of Mattamy Homes.

Included in a $200 million capital campaign launched in 2010 by the SickKids Foundation, the largest gift ever to a children's hospital in Canada will support construction and operating costs of the SickKids Centre for Research and Learning, a $400 million facility scheduled to open in August 2013. By bringing research staff together who currently work in six different buildings, the new facility will encourage interdisciplinary research and collaboration, accelerate discoveries, foster new knowledge, and improve child health.

"This is a game changer for the future of children's health, and we are so grateful to Mr. Gilgan for his generosity, his vision, and his belief in SickKids," said Dr. Janet Rossant, the hospital's chief of research. "Our research teams are collaborating on many grant-funded projects, and we have bold ambitions for accelerating health advancements and discoveries once we move into our new home — the SickKids Centre for Research and Learning."