Hope Air and BMO Renew Partnership to Provide Life-Changing Travel and Accommodation for Canadian Patients
BMO invests $300,000 to support equitable access to critical healthcare for Canadians BMO recognized as Hope Air’s Philanthropist of the Year
Toronto, ON – May 2025 – Hope Air, Canada’s only national charity providing free travel and accommodation for patients who require medical care far from home, is proud to announce renewed support from BMO totalling $300,000 over three years. This investment will help ensure Canadians can access the care they need, no matter where they live.
This year, BMO was named Hope Air’s Philanthropist of the Year. The award is presented annually to the organization or individual who has the most significant impact on our ability to support patients in need.
Since 2017, BMO and Hope Air have worked together to support patients facing financial and geographic barriers to medical care. BMO’s investment will provide flights, accommodations, meals, and ground transportation for hundreds of patients in financial need—families who might otherwise be forced to delay or forgo life-saving treatment.
BMO’s support comes as demand for Hope Air’s services continues to grow across the country, especially in remote, rural, and underserved communities. In 2024, travel requests increased by 85%.
“Hope Air’s mission is to ensure no patient is left behind simply because of where they live or what they earn,” said Mark Rubinstein, CEO of Hope Air. “BMO has been a steadfast and generous partner in that mission, helping us close the gap for thousands of patients over the years. Their investment is not only financial—it’s a commitment to health equity for all Canadians.”
“BMO is committed to driving progress in communities across Canada, and this renewed partnership with Hope Air will help people get the critical care they need when they need it most,” said Helen Seibel, Head of Employee and Community Giving at BMO. “By removing barriers to health services, patients can focus on what really matters – their health and healing. Together we are building stronger communities and a more inclusive society.”
In 2025 alone, BMO will direct $3.4 million toward healthcare-focused community giving. Hope Air is proud to be part of this commitment. The funding will help patients and their families access specialist care in distant cities, often hundreds or thousands of kilometres from home.
Real Impact on Real Families
“My experience with Hope Air was perfect and I did not face any difficulties. The service was perfect with the customer service team, flights, even meal vouchers, hotel reservations and rides,” said Mahmoud, father of Hope Air patient, Sara from Thunder Bay, ON. “Without Hope Air’s support, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything, because it helped me a lot with financial expenses and reduced the days away from my family.”
“We were so scared and worried, especially with the financial aspect—leaving one child at home with family while traveling out of province with another child battling cancer added immense stress,” said Chantal, mom of Amir, St. John’s, NL. “Hope Air is absolutely amazing to deal with. The staff is so caring and thoughtful, and they help with any questions or concerns.”
“Just the cost of the flights alone, we would have gone so far into debt and then everything is so expensive. For his surgery a week in the hotel would have been so expensive, we would have had to decide to either pay rent or have a life changing surgery for our child.” said Lee, father of Hope Air Patient, Sawyer, Kelowna, BC.
For more information on Hope Air’s services or to donate, visit hopeair.ca.
About Hope Air
Founded in 1986, Hope Air is Canada’s only national charity that provides free travel and accommodations to patients in financial need who must travel long distances to reach specialized medical care. Hope Air has arranged more than 235,000 travel arrangements for over 25,000 Canadians from more than 640 communities.
BMO Gives. Good grows here.
Helping communities thrive by supporting the organizations that sustain them and encouraging employee giving and volunteerism is at the heart of BMO’s Purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life.
In 2024, we directed more than $108 million to drive progress for communities, which included $101 million in philanthropic contributions to hundreds of charities and nonprofit organizations across North America.
Our colleagues spent over 54,000 hours volunteering in the community and contributed more than $39 million of donations through employee-driven giving in our annual campaigns.
For more information, please visit BMO.com.
Hope Air Media Contact:
Jodi Lumsden
Director, Marketing & Communications
jlumsden@hopeair.ca
This year, BMO was named Hope Air’s Philanthropist of the Year. The award is presented annually to the organization or individual who has the most significant impact on our ability to support patients in need.
Since 2017, BMO and Hope Air have worked together to support patients facing financial and geographic barriers to medical care. BMO’s investment will provide flights, accommodations, meals, and ground transportation for hundreds of patients in financial need—families who might otherwise be forced to delay or forgo life-saving treatment.
BMO’s support comes as demand for Hope Air’s services continues to grow across the country, especially in remote, rural, and underserved communities. In 2024, travel requests increased by 85%.
“Hope Air’s mission is to ensure no patient is left behind simply because of where they live or what they earn,” said Mark Rubinstein, CEO of Hope Air. “BMO has been a steadfast and generous partner in that mission, helping us close the gap for thousands of patients over the years. Their investment is not only financial—it’s a commitment to health equity for all Canadians.”
“BMO is committed to driving progress in communities across Canada, and this renewed partnership with Hope Air will help people get the critical care they need when they need it most,” said Helen Seibel, Head of Employee and Community Giving at BMO. “By removing barriers to health services, patients can focus on what really matters – their health and healing. Together we are building stronger communities and a more inclusive society.”
In 2025 alone, BMO will direct $3.4 million toward healthcare-focused community giving. Hope Air is proud to be part of this commitment. The funding will help patients and their families access specialist care in distant cities, often hundreds or thousands of kilometres from home.
Real Impact on Real Families
“My experience with Hope Air was perfect and I did not face any difficulties. The service was perfect with the customer service team, flights, even meal vouchers, hotel reservations and rides,” said Mahmoud, father of Hope Air patient, Sara from Thunder Bay, ON. “Without Hope Air’s support, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything, because it helped me a lot with financial expenses and reduced the days away from my family.”
“We were so scared and worried, especially with the financial aspect—leaving one child at home with family while traveling out of province with another child battling cancer added immense stress,” said Chantal, mom of Amir, St. John’s, NL. “Hope Air is absolutely amazing to deal with. The staff is so caring and thoughtful, and they help with any questions or concerns.”
“Just the cost of the flights alone, we would have gone so far into debt and then everything is so expensive. For his surgery a week in the hotel would have been so expensive, we would have had to decide to either pay rent or have a life changing surgery for our child.” said Lee, father of Hope Air Patient, Sawyer, Kelowna, BC.
For more information on Hope Air’s services or to donate, visit hopeair.ca.
About Hope Air
Founded in 1986, Hope Air is Canada’s only national charity that provides free travel and accommodations to patients in financial need who must travel long distances to reach specialized medical care. Hope Air has arranged more than 235,000 travel arrangements for over 25,000 Canadians from more than 640 communities.
BMO Gives. Good grows here.
Helping communities thrive by supporting the organizations that sustain them and encouraging employee giving and volunteerism is at the heart of BMO’s Purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life.
In 2024, we directed more than $108 million to drive progress for communities, which included $101 million in philanthropic contributions to hundreds of charities and nonprofit organizations across North America.
Our colleagues spent over 54,000 hours volunteering in the community and contributed more than $39 million of donations through employee-driven giving in our annual campaigns.
For more information, please visit BMO.com.
Hope Air Media Contact:
Jodi Lumsden
Director, Marketing & Communications
jlumsden@hopeair.ca