Province commits $1.3B to school construction and expansion
The Ontario government has announced an investment of $1.3 billion to support the construction and expansion of 60 schools across the province.
The funding more than doubles the province’s commitment to build more schools and expansions. Combined, the projects are expected to create 27,093 new student spaces and 1,759 childcare spaces.
“This $1.3 billion in funding represents the single largest investment in school building in Ontario's history,” said Education Minister Stephen 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 schools close to home that give them real life and job skills to succeed in the future.”
The province says the investment is part of its plan to ensure that the public education system focuses on what matters most: important life-long skills such as reading, writing and math; improving accountability and transparency for parents and families; and maximizing capital assets.
“With Ontario’s population growing, we need to continue to build schools so students can learn close to home,” said Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy. “This is part of our Plan to Build a Better Ontario by investing in infrastructure to get more homes, schools, hospitals, and highways built faster, attract better jobs with bigger paycheques, and keep costs down for families.”
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 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.