The history of Dynacare stretches back more than 50 years, reaches across thousands of miles and has touched the lives of millions of Canadians. We invite you to take a trip back to where we started and trace the steps that have made Dynacare what it is today - one of Canada’s largest and most established health solutions companies.
1959
Central Medical Laboratories (CML) is established in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Today, CML continues to operate as an important division in the Dynacare group of companies.
1968
Gamma Biopath Laboratory opens to serve the needs of physicians and patients in a single medical building. The lab soon expands into diagnostic imaging and computerized health assessment services. Over the years demand for these services grows so Gamma Biopath opens several patient services centres in the Greater Toronto, Hamilton and Stoney Creek areas of Ontario.
1969
London Biochem Specialists (now London Biochemistry Reference Laboratory) is founded in London, Ontario in order to provide a wide range of specialized medical tests that, until then, had been performed mainly in the United States. With a more local option available the lab soon begins fulfilling specialized test request from across Ontario.
1971
Bio-Science Laboratory, now part of the Dynacare Medical Laboratories partnership, is founded in Windsor, Ontario.
1975
As a result of growing demand for its services, London Biochemistry Reference Laboratory moves to larger premises in London, Ontario (where it currently continues to operate). More than 40 years later, these facilities still provide their unique brand of specialized medical tests for physicians and patients all across Ontario.
1976
Gamma Biopath is acquired by Mr. Avrum Silver who expands the business by opening new medical centres throughout Ontario.
1982
Gamma Biopath acquires North Peel Laboratory in Brampton, Ontario. The following year the two labs merge to become Gamma North Peel Laboratory and move into a new 24,000-square-foot facility in Toronto. This new laboratory soon becomes a reference centre for anatomic pathology and cytology testing.
1987
Dynacare Laboratories is established when Dynacare Health Group acquires its first laboratory - Quality Medical Laboratories.
1988-1992
Dynacare Laboratories grows to become one of Ontario’s largest medical laboratory service providers by acquiring:
- London Biochemistry Reference Laboratory
- Douglas Laboratory Services
- Kopp Clinical Laboratory
- Kipling Medical Laboratories,
- Elixir Medical Laboratories
- Park-Med Laboratories
1990
Gamma North Peel moves to a new 48,000-square-foot facility in North York, Ontario. The company expands with the acquisition of Parwood Laboratories, further increasing its client base and testing volumes.
1992
Dynacare Laboratories consolidates its Toronto-area operations into a new state-of-the-art 68,000-square-foot facility.
1993
Dynacare Inc. enters the United States market. Within seven years it is operating 19 central laboratories and 149 Patient Services Centres in 17 states.
1997
Gamma-Dynacare Medical Laboratories is born thanks to a partnership between Dynacare Laboratories, Gamma North Peel Partnership Inc. and Bio-Science Laboratory (Ontario) Limited.
2002
LabCorp - one of the world’s leading medical laboratories - acquires Dynacare Laboratories, becoming the majority shareholder of Gamma-Dynacare Medical Laboratories. Publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: LH), LabCorp is a pioneer in commercializing new diagnostic technologies and the first in its industry to embrace genomic testing.
Gamma-Dynacare expands into Quebec with the acquisition of Analab Centre Diagnostique Inc. in Montreal.
2003
Gamma-Dynacare opens a new 28,000-square-foot diagnostic testing facility in the Ottawa Life Sciences Technology Park. This state-of-the-art facility features the most advanced laboratory technology and robotics as well as a Level 3 classified laboratory specializing in bacteriology.
That same year Gamma-Dynacare is named Company of the Year by the Greater Ottawa Chamber of Commerce.
2004
Gamma-Dynacare expands its operations into Saskatchewan by securing an exclusive arrangement with the Saskatoon and Regina Qu’Appelle Health Regions to provide community laboratory specimen collection, transportation services and procurement services for laboratory supplies.
2005
Gamma-Dynacare expands in Quebec with the acquisition of LDS Diagnostic Laboratories - a well-respected full-service private clinical laboratory serving the Montreal Island community for more than 38 years.
2008
The Government of New Brunswick selects Gamma-Dynacare to conduct a major independent review of more than 21,000 pathology cases handled by local hospitals over a 10 year span. Conducted by a team of pathologists in the Gamma-Dynacare Ottawa laboratory, the review provides clinicians and their patients in New Brunswick with valuable information that contributes towards appropriate healthcare and health-related decisions.
That same year Gamma-Dynacare establishes an operational presence in Manitoba through its acquisition of Central Medical Laboratories (CML), the province’s largest provider of community laboratory services.
Gamma-Dynacare is named one of the Top 75 Employers in the Greater Toronto Area by Mediacorp Canada, Inc. The annual competition recognizes organizations that offer exceptional workplace environments for employees based on a number of factors including work atmosphere and communication, benefits, training and skills development and community involvement.
2009
Gamma-Dynacare is named one of Top 100 Employers in Canada and, for the second year in a row, one of the Top 75 Employers in the Greater Toronto Area.
2011
Gamma-Dynacare acquires Assiniboine Clinic Laboratory and Trainor Medical Laboratory in Manitoba, thereby strengthening its leadership position in the province.
This year also sees Gamma-Dynacare acquire Warnex Medical Laboratories which brings with it new capabilities in molecular diagnostics, oncology and DNA identification testing.
2012
In 2012, Gamma-Dynacare makes a number of strategic moves to solidify its position as a leading provider of medical laboratory testing in Canada. These include:
- acquiring LifeLabs Quebec to become the largest private laboratory in the province;
- expanding its toxicology business with the acquisition of the Maxxam Analytics drug and alcohol testing business;
- creating a new national healthcare logistics business - Accuro Health Services;
- opening newly renovated, expanded and re-engineered laboratories in Brampton, Ontario and St-Laurent, Quebec.
2013
Gamma-Dynacare acquires a controlling interest in Impact Genetics Inc., a Toronto-based laboratory specializing in high-complexity, disease-specific genetic testing.
This same year also sees the acquisition of MedAxio™ Insurance Medical Services, a leading provider of medical information collection services to the Canadian life insurance industry.
Later in 2013, Gamma-Dynacare officially opens a new state-of-the-art laboratory in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
2014
Gamma-Dynacare acquires Lab Bio-Médic, a privately owned laboratory in Quebec that provides services to medical clinics, industries, insurance companies and clinical research organizations.
Gamma-Dynacare celebrates certification of its Edmonton laboratory as the first Instrumented Initial Test Facility for workplace drug screening in North America.
2014 also sees Gamma-Dynacare being named one of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers for the seventh consecutive year.
2015
Gamma-Dynacare formally changes its name to ‘Dynacare’ and positions itself as ’a health solutions company’. This new identity better reflects our expanded scope within the changing Canadian healthcare landscape. The Dynacare mission is to support healthy lives with commitment and care. We are dedicated to inspiring confidence in everyone we serve (individuals, healthcare practitioners, healthcare institutions, governments and corporations) so they can make better health decisions.