On July 2, 2026, our beloved Brian Paisley, passed away. He had been admitted to hospital in Puerto Escondido, Mexico on May 21, in a critical state of severe pneumonia from which he never recovered.

This GoFundMe was created to raise funds to keep him alive. His plan was to be in Canada right now. He was booked to teach a screenwriting course on the west coast with his friend Keith Digby. He was scheduled to work on a documentary about the birth of the Edmonton Fringe with his friend Martin de Valk. He was in the middle of writing novels. He was excited about the future. He was enthusiastic, positive, and encouraging to everyone he met.

Sadly, our prayers and love and hope couldn’t save him.

We are all so appreciative of your support during this time. To date this GoFundMe has raised almost $55,000 and we thank you tremendously. Brian’s medical bills totalled $87,500, after the hospital accepted our offer to settle at a slight discount. Fortunately, it was less than the $100,000 we had estimated we might need.

The fundraiser is still active. Your donations, big or small, are gratefully received. If we should raise more than $75,000 we hope to start a fund to help support Fringe applicants in future years. The Paisley Fund.

Facebook Group: Brian Paisley Updates

ORIGINAL TEXT BELOW:

Hi, I'm Stuart Paisley (Brian's son), writing on behalf of Erinne Paisley (Brian's daughter), both our mothers (Ti Hallas and Julia Menard), and for those who know and love Brian.

Brian Paisley C.M., is currently fighting for his life at La Barra Medical Center in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. On May 21, he suffered a sudden and extreme case of pneumonia which quickly became life threatening.

He was admitted in a state of extreme dehydration, malnutrition, and dangerously low blood oxygen levels. He was intubated, as he was unable to breathe on his own, and kept in a medically induced coma. After two attempts he was successfully extubated but then required an emergency tracheotomy on May 26. Since then he has slowly started to come back. He opened his eyes, he tried to talk and laugh. He knows where he is. He remembers his family and friends..

The situation is still desperate, especially in terms of the necessary costs to keep him alive; in the ICU the cost has been $3,000-10,000 CAD per day. There is hope that he will be transferred to an “intermediate care” room very soon at which time the daily cost will be lower.

When he is discharged from hospital, there will be much needed to support him in his rehabilitation process. There is genuine hope that he will be an independent, productive, creative person again someday soon!

Brian has no health insurance. We are asking anyone who Brian has touched with his creativity, curiosity, joie de vivre and eternal optimism, to help us with the expenses that will be incurred to save his life. We appreciate every single donation.

Brian birthed the very first Fringe theatre festival in North America in 1982, and has impacted the Canadian theatre and arts communities in immeasurable ways. Whether you worked in a Fringe show, or watched a Fringe show, that opportunity was because of Brian.

He has much more time left on this earth if he can overcome this acute challenge. We think he has the willpower to do so, he just needs our help right now.

We love you all, for your prayers and good energy. Brian has given so much to this world. Let's give back to him.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.