The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Martha announced on March 6, 2026, that they will end their 120-year role as sponsors of St. Martha’s Regional Hospital in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. This administrative change will officially take effect on September 30, 2026, marking the conclusion of the religious stewardship that began when the order founded the hospital in 1906.
The Department of Health and Wellness confirmed it will not look for a new sponsor to replace the sisters. When the current mission agreement ends, the hospital will move to a standard management model that aligns its policies and services with all other hospitals in the province.
While the facility will remain open and continue to serve the community, its management will now be fully handled by Nova Scotia Health. This shift ensures that administrative decisions and healthcare policies at the Antigonish site are consistent with the rest of the provincial health network.
The mission agreement was originally created in 1996 to preserve the hospital’s Catholic identity and values during its transfer to provincial oversight. Recent years have seen these religious values occasionally conflict with provincial health mandates, leading to the decision to move toward a uniform operational system across the province.
