Chris Murray (right) announces a donation of $1 million to the Bringing Herts Home campaign. (Image Credit: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Chris Murray donates $1 million to Lethbridge cardiac care centre

Feb 9, 2026 | 12:27 PM

A Lethbridge man has made a significant contribution to a campaign to improve local cardiac healthcare services.

Chris Murray of Murray Auto Group has donated $1 million to the Bringing Hearts Home campaign.

“We’ve always believed in giving back to the community, and with this being our 100th anniversary, it was a chance to give a larger, well, much larger than normal, contribution back to the community,” says Murray.

Murray and his family have been in the car business for a full century and now operate 30 dealerships across western Canada.

A charitable arm of their company gives back to important causes in each of their communities every year, and Murray says this initiative felt right.

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“It’s the one that can take this amount of money, and two, it is going to save lives. It’s a way, again, we’re able to touch the lives of all of our employees, all of our customers, whether it saves one of their lives or one of their loved ones.”

Approximately 18 months into the campaign, Bringing Hearts Home has raised around $26 million of its $30 million goal.

READ MORE: Bringing Hearts Home raises $25M so far, but still needs $5M

Murray says he has always known Lethbridge to be a generous community, so he was not surprised to see the campaign get the support it has.

On the other hand, Dr. Sayeh Zielke, a local cardiologist and spearhead of the fundraiser, says it has surpassed what they thought was possible.

“When we started dreaming and planning for this campaign, we were told $30 million was incredibly ambitious, especially in the timeline that we had. This is beyond our wildest expectations,” says Zielke.

The announcement was made in the area of Chinkook Regional Hospital, where the Cardiac Centre of Excellence will eventually be constructed.

Zielke says it makes her sad every time she comes and sees it being used as a kind of large storage locker, rather than providing care to those who need it.

“Heart disease is the number one killer in southern Alberta. Very sadly and concerning for us in our population, southern Alberta has about 30 per cent higher mortality rate from heart disease compared to anywhere else in the province.”

The completion of the unit will allow for life-saving cardiac care to be provided much closer to home, allowing for better outcomes for patients and less travel for families. Planned upgrades include:

• Two cardiac catheterization labs
• Two electrophysiology labs
• Expanded cardiac diagnostics, including echo, stress testing, and Holter monitoring
• Dedicated cardiac CT and MRI imaging capacity
• A modernized ICU and redeveloped Coronary Care Unit with enhanced patient safety and infection-control design

Zielke adds that, while these “transformative gifts” are wonderful to see, support at any level gets them closer to their goal, whether that means making a two-figure donation as opposed to seven, or volunteering for any of the community events that support this cause.

You can learn more about Bringing Hearts Home and donate at CRHFoundation.ca

Pattison Media’s B93.3 FM and WILD 95.5 FM will be among the radio stations supporting this week’s 16th Annual Care from the Heart Radio-a-Thon on Thursday, Feb. 12.

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