Ontario Building New School in Etobicoke
The Ontario government is investing $19.4 million in the Toronto Catholic District School Board for a new St. Elizabeth Catholic Elementary School, helping working families in Etobicoke. This investment, announced Christine Hogarth, MPP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore, will support the creation of 600 student and 88 licensed child care spaces as part of the Ford Government’s commitment to building state-of-the-art schools for Ontario youth.
The project is part of a provincewide investment of nearly $500 million to support new school and child care spaces that were recently announced by Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. The overall investment will support the creation of 37 school related projects which include 23 child care centres. This funding will add nearly 15,700 new student spaces and 1,502 licensed child care spaces at schools across Ontario.
“We are building new schools, building more affordable child care spaces, and building hope and opportunity for Ontario students as they learn in more normal and safer classrooms,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. “We believe that students deserve to learn in-person in state-of-the-art facilities that are internet connected, accessible, with modern ventilation systems, which is why our government is delivering a major investment that accelerates construction to get it done for parents, students, and communities.”
The investment is part of the Ontario government’s commitment to provide $14 billion to support school construction over ten years. Since 2018, the government has approved nearly 200 new projects and there are currently more than 300 child care and education building-related projects in development, with more than 100 actively under construction.
“The new St. Elizabeth Catholic Elementary School is great news for our community,” said Christine Hogarth, MPP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore. “This investment will provide choice and flexibility for families and new opportunities for the children of Etobicoke.”
Highlights of the project include:
- 600 elementary student spaces.
- 88 new licensed child care spaces.
- 5 new child care rooms.
“Under Premier Ford’s leadership, our government is delivering more schools across the province to support the needs of Ontario’s students, families and growing communities. By cutting red tape and introducing the Rapid Build pilot project to expedite procurement and construction processes to build better schools faster, we’re ensuring that students reap the benefits of state-of-the-art learning facilities sooner and have access to education in a safe and healthy environment.” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “These investments are just one of the ways we’re building critical infrastructure – such as schools, hospitals, long-term care homes and public transit – that Ontarians rely on with a budget over $148 billion over the next decade.”
“In a city where many of our schools need renewal, the selection of St. Elizabeth is the fruit of a lot of hard work on the part of families and the school community, who worked hard to share their experiences and the needs of their children with school Board staff and provincial politicians.
The extraordinary growth of our community, as well as the development that is currently transforming it, speaks to the need for renewal as we accommodate the growing and vibrant community that surrounds us.
I would like to thank the school Board for listening to our school community as well as to our MPP Christine Hogarth, Minister Lecce, and the Provincial Government of Premier Doug Ford who all have worked with me to fund two new school buildings at Etobicoke Lakeshore which now includes St. Elizabeth”, said Trustee Teresa Lubinski , Ward 4 of the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
St. Elizabeth Catholic Elementary School is located at 5 Redcar Avenue in Etobicoke.
Quick Facts:
- For 2022-23, the province is also providing school boards with $1.4 billion in funding to renew and maintain existing schools.
- The governments of Canada and Ontario are providing $656.5 million in funding for critical infrastructure projects to protect students and staff from COVID-19 in the province’s schools through the COVID-19 Resilience stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.