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Press Release – John Jordan, MPP for Lanark – Frontenac – Kingston

The Ontario government is investing $8.9 million in the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario for the new additions at St. Gregory Catholic School and Notre Dame Catholic High School, helping working families in Carleton Place.

This investment, announced on April 16 by John Jordan, MPP for Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, will support the creation of 394 student spaces as part of the government’s commitment to building state-of-the-art learning spaces for Ontario students.

“Students deserve to learn in state-of-the-art modern facilities,” said MPP John Jordan, Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston. “It is so important to get new schools and expansions to existing schools built as quickly as possible in our growing communities, like Carleton Place.”

These projects are part of a $1.3 billion investment to support new school construction and expansions to existing schools, including childcare spaces, announced by Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, as part of the Capital Priorities Program.

The overall investment, which is the highest ever made in a single year, supports 60 school related projects – 39 new school builds and 21 expansions to existing schools – including childcare spaces for 27 projects. This funding will add more than 27,000 new student spaces, creating more than 98,000 student spaces and more than 1,700 licensed childcare spaces at schools across Ontario.

“This $1.3 billion in funding represents the single largest investment in school building in Ontario history,” said Minister Lecce. “We are stepping up with a massive investment to build the homes, schools, and communities our province needs, and to ensure children have access to state-of-the-art, STEM focused schools close to home that gives them real life and job skills to succeed in the future.”

The new plan will provide school boards with more flexibility and support to get shovels in the ground quicker and have more options to use existing buildings in their communities. These changes are part of the government’s strategy to ensure that the public education system focuses on what matters most: teaching important life-long skills such as reading, writing and math; improving accountability and transparency for parents and families; and maximizing capital assets.

“Our government is investing in new schools and improved infrastructure across the province to support the needs of Ontario’s students, families, and growing communities.” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “These investments are part of our historic $185 billion over the next ten years, to build and deliver the critical infrastructure Ontarians deserve today, and for future generations to come.”

The 2024 Budget: Building a Better Ontario continues to support the province’s work being delivered through Bill 98, the Better Schools and Students Outcomes Act, building schools faster and better employing taxpayer-funded assets.

Highlights of the projects include:

  • A $4.6 million investment for an addition to St. Gregory Catholic School located at 176 Townline Road W. in Carleton Place, creating 164 elementary student spaces.

  • A $4.3 million investment for an addition to Notre Dame Catholic High School located at 157 McKenzie St. in Carleton Place, creating 230 secondary student spaces.

“These school additions will be tremendously valuable for the students and families served by our schools,” said Sue Wilson, Board Chair of the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario. “We are extremely grateful to the Ministry of Education for funding these projects for our Board. The new additions will enhance learning opportunities for the students entrusted in our care, so that they have the tools to continue to succeed on their learning journey.”

QUICK FACTS

  • In December 2023, the Ministry of Education announced Ontario’s plan to help build schools faster through a transparent, accountable and more efficient process. In the recent Capital Priorities round, school boards were encouraged to standardize the design of new school construction, identify opportunities to work together on joint-use school projects, and bring forward shovel ready proposals.

  • Since 2018, the Ontario government has invested more than $3.6 billion in capital construction projects in education, including 139 new schools, 109 additions and renovations to existing facilities, creating more than 98,000 student spaces and over 8,000 new licensed childcare spaces.

  • For the 2023-24 school year, the province is providing school boards with approximately $1.4 billion in funding to revitalize and renew aged building systems and components.

  • The investment is part of Ontario’s commitment to provide about $16 billion to support new school construction, repair, and renewal over 10 years.

  • The Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023 ensures the public education system focuses on what matters most: teaching important life long skills such as reading, writing and math; improving accountability and transparency for parents and families; maximizing capital assets of boards to support building modern schools faster and better utilizing current school capacity.

  • In March 2022, Ontario secured a six-year, $13.2 billion agreement with the federal government that will lower fees for families to an average of $10 a day for children under the age of six. Ontario aims to reach that target by September 2025.