Ontario Government Building Addition in Brockville

Province gives approval to award the tender for an addition at Westminster Public School

NEWS    September 22, 2022

As part of Ontario’s ongoing efforts to build and improve local schools, the province has provided the Upper Canada District School Board with approval to award the tender for an addition at Westminster Public School. This is supported by an investment of $10.6 million, which includes additional funding of $3.4 million.

The Government of Ontario is delivering more than $26.6 billion in education funding for the 2022-23 school year, including an increase of over $600 million this September, which is the highest investment in public education in Ontario’s history. Investing in the province’s schools is an integral part of Ontario’s Plan to Catch Up, which is squarely focused on the priorities of parents and includes five key components:

  • Kids being back in the classroom, on time with a full school experience that includes extracurriculars like sports, band and field trips;
  • Investing more than $175 million for enhanced tutoring support programs delivered by school boards and community partners, with a focus on reading, writing and math;
  • Updating the curriculum to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow, including opportunities in the skilled trades;
  • Providing more money to build schools and improve education; and
  • Allocating $90 million – the highest amount in Ontario history, and a 420 per cent increase from 2017-18 – to support student mental health.

Once completed, this project will deliver 25 child care spaces for local parents. The investment is part of the Ontario government’s commitment to providing $14 billion to support school construction over 10 years. Since 2018, the government has approved nearly 200 school construction projects and the development of more than 300 child care and education building-related projects, of which more than 100 are actively under construction.

“Our government is committed to helping students succeed while remaining in the classroom,” said Steve Clark, MPP for Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes. “This increased funding for the ongoing addition to Westminster Public School is clear proof of that commitment, and I am pleased to be able to announce it today.”

“Our government is investing $14 billion over ten years to build new schools, improve existing facilities and create child care spaces to ensure young people can reach their full potential,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. “By building the new state-of-the-art addition at Westminster Public School as well as investing in tutoring and mental health supports for the year ahead, we are getting students in Brockville back on track now and well into the future. While we make progress building this addition at Westminster Public School to support hard-working parents, we remain committed to keeping students in class this September in more normal classrooms with extra curriculars, sports, and clubs.” 

“Under Premier Ford’s leadership, we’re building more state-of-the-art schools to support the needs of Ontario’s students, families and growing communities. By investing in innovative and modern learning spaces, we’re ensuring students have access to the quality education that will provide them with lifelong skills and education in a safe and healthy environment,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “These investments are one of the ways we’re delivering on our promise to build Ontario, with an infrastructure budget of more than $148 billion over the next decade.”

Highlights of the project include:

  • 25 new child care spaces
  • 2 new child care rooms
  • New gym

“This is certainly an exciting time for the UCDSB and the Brockville community,” says John McAllister, Chair of the Upper Canada District School Board. “To see the shovels in the ground encompasses our commitment to providing state-of-the-art facilities along with equal and equitable learning spaces for all students to reach their full potential now and for the years ahead. Of course, this commitment would not be possible without the unwavering support and financial investment from the Ministry of Education and local MPP Steve Clark.”

Westminster Public School is located at 29 Central Avenue in Brockville.

Quick Facts:

  • Since 2018, the Ontario government has invested over $2.0 billion in capital projects in education, including 100 new schools, 88 additions and renovations to existing facilities and 6,410 new licensed child care spaces.
  • For 2022-23, the province is providing school boards with $1.4 billion in funding to revitalize and renew aged building systems and components.
  • 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.
  • In March 2022, the Governments of Canada and Ontario signed a $13.2 billion agreement that will lower child care fees in stages for families, delivering an average of $10 a day child care by September 2025.

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Shown at the construction site of Westminster Public School are UCDSB Director of Education, Ron Ferguson, MPP Steve Clark, Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce and UCDSB Chair of the Board, John McAllister.