Final BMO Ride for Cancer makes history with record $4.1 million raised for local cancer care, including $2 million match from J&W Murphy Foundation
HALIFAX, NS, Oct. 3, 2026 /CNW/ -- BMO Ride for Cancer is crossing its final finish line with the biggest fundraising achievement in its 12-year history.
The QEII Foundation's 2026 BMO Ride for Cancer has raised more than $4,141,960 net and counting for cancer care in Nova Scotia -- shattering the event's previous single-year fundraising record and bringing its extraordinary lifetime impact to more than $19.1 million net raised since 2015.
More than 1,050 riders will hit the road and trail today, taking on distances from 25 to 160 kilometres for the final BMO Ride for Cancer -- backed by hundreds of volunteers and thousands of donors and supporters who helped make its historic grand finale possible.
This year's record total includes an unprecedented $2-million matching gift from the J&W Murphy Foundation -- the largest matching gift in BMO Ride for Cancer history.
Together, the J&W Murphy Foundation and 2026 BMO Ride for Cancer community have completed funding for three groundbreaking cancer care projects: Nova Scotia's first relocatable MRI, minimal residual disease monitoring technology and the BreastCancerPEP clinical trial, which launched this summer and is already supporting breast cancer patients across Nova Scotia.
It is a remarkable final chapter for an event that began in 2015 with just 130 riders and $180,000 net raised. Twelve years later, BMO Ride for Cancer has grown into Canada's third-ranked peer-to-peer cycling event, raising more than $19.1 million for cancer-fighting technology, equipment and spaces that touch the treatment journey of nearly every cancer patient at the QEII Cancer Centre.
The QEII Foundation is proud to thank and recognize our riders, donors, volunteers, sponsors, community partners, vendors, trail associations, Province of Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, and Nova Scotia Health partners for their inspiring support of this event and its impact.
QUOTES
"For 12 years, our BMO Ride for Cancer community has come together to build an extraordinary legacy for cancer care -- honouring those we love, those we've lost and those yet to be diagnosed," says Susan Mullin, president and CEO of the QEII Foundation. "It's $19.1 million invested in better cancer care. It's technology in the hands of healthcare teams and new possibilities for patients. We're especially grateful to the J&W Murphy Foundation, whose historic $2-million matching gift helped propel our final BMO Ride for Cancer to a record-breaking finish. What this community has accomplished together will change cancer care -- and lives -- for years to come."
"Like so many families across Atlantic Canada, ours has been touched by cancer. We know what a cancer diagnosis does to a family, and that made supporting this final Ride very personal for us," says Lisa Murphy, on behalf of the J&W Murphy Foundation. "Our hope with the $2-million match was simply to encourage others to join us -- and they did. To see so many people come together and make this final Ride its biggest yet is pretty extraordinary. We're very proud, and very grateful, to have been part of it."
"I was there when 130 riders took a chance on a brand-new event 12 years ago. I could never have imagined where it would take us," says Scott MacIntyre, BMO Ride for Cancer volunteer co-chair. "Year after year, I've watched people turn some of the hardest moments of their lives into something incredibly powerful for others. To see this community come together one final time and raise a record $4.1 million is overwhelming. Being part of this ride from its first start line to its last has been one of the greatest honours of my life."
"BMO Ride for Cancer has always been about people showing up for people," says Catherine Campbell, BMO Ride for Cancer volunteer co-chair. "Cancer touches every Nova Scotian in some way, and everyone who's part of this event carries a 'why' -- someone they're celebrating, supporting, remembering or missing. Those reasons have fueled this community from the very beginning and, together, we've turned them into something extraordinary: stronger cancer care for all of us. There's something incredibly special about ending this 12-year journey on our biggest year yet."
"Cancer care at the QEII is forever changed because of the extraordinary community of riders, donors, volunteers, and supporters behind BMO Ride for Cancer," says Dr. Bruce Colwell, senior medical director, Nova Scotia Health Cancer Care Program. "For 12 years, this community has helped drive meaningful advances across every aspect of the cancer journey, from earlier diagnosis and more precise, personalized treatments to enhanced support between appointments and improved monitoring that can detect recurrence sooner. The impact of the BMO Ride for Cancer reaches far beyond HRM, making a difference for patients across Nova Scotia and our Maritime neighbours who rely on the QEII for specialized cancer care. Every dollar raised, every kilometre ridden has made innovations and care enhancements possible to help bring better care, greater hope, and improved outcomes to people facing cancer. The legacy of BMO Ride will live on in every patient who received care sooner, every family who found support when they needed it most, and every life touched by the advancements it made possible."
LOOKING AHEAD
While BMO Ride for Cancer is crossing its final finish line, the QEII Foundation's commitment to transforming cancer care is stronger than ever. Stay tuned for exciting announcements in the coming months to unveil what's next.
SOURCE QEII Foundation
For further information or to arrange event day interviews and b-roll, please contact: Tanya MacLean, Vice President, Communications and Marketing | QEII Foundation, 902 489 5664 | [email protected]; Nicole Topple, Director, Communications and Marketing | QEII Foundation, 902 476 9798 | [email protected]
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