Caroline Mulroney Announces Building a New School in East Gwillimbury and Expanding School in Bradford West Gwillimbury

May 17, 2024

York-Simcoe — The Ontario government is investing $30 million in the York Region District School Board for the new Holland Landing #1 Elementary School, and $6.8 million in the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board to expand Holy Trinity Catholic High School, helping working families in East Gwillimbury and Bradford West Gwillimbury, as announced by Caroline Mulroney, MPP for York—Simcoe.

This will support the creation of 914 student spaces and 48 licensed child care spaces in East Gwillimbury and Bradford West Gwillimbury as part of the government’s commitment to building state-of-the-art learning spaces for Ontario students.

These projects are part of a $1.3 billion plan that more than doubles funding to build new schools and expansions, including child care spaces, announced by Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, as part of the Capital Priorities Program.

“Our government is bringing STEM-focussed education closer to home for Bradford and East Gwillimbury families. By building a new elementary school and expanding a secondary school here in our growing communities, we are delivering on our promise to invest in the next generation,” said MPP Caroline Mulroney for York Simcoe, “I look forward to seeing more students in York-Simcoe learn in these new and state-of-the-art schools.

The overall investment, which is the highest ever made in a single year, supports the creation of more than 27,000 new student spaces and more than 1,700 licensed child care spaces at schools across Ontario.

“Our government is more than doubling the funding to build new schools, which 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 schools close to home that gives them real life and job skills to succeed in the future. I want to reiterate my thanks to MPP Caroline Mulroney for her relentless advocacy for local families.”

Ontario’s government unveiled a new plan to build faster, including providing 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 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.

“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 are part of our historic investment of more than $190 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 in the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act to build schools faster and better use taxpayer-funded assets.

QUOTES

“We have seen tremendous growth in Catholic education in the Bradford community. There is a new elementary school already in the works, and now this project at Holy Trinity Catholic High school will be another important addition to serve the students and staff in this area,” said Maria Hardie, Board Chair. “We are grateful to the Ministry of Education for making these important infrastructure investments so that we can continue offering the best possible opportunities for learning and growth.”

~ Maria Hardie, Chair, Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board

“This announcement for a new school in the growing community of Holland Landing is welcomed news for our district,” said Bill Cober, YRDSB Director of Education. “We thank the provincial government for this investment and we look forward to creating another inclusive and welcoming school environment for our students and their families.”

~ Bill Cober, Director of Education, York Region District School Board

Highlights of the project include:

• A $30 million investment in the York Region District School Board for a new Holland Landing #1 Elementary School to be located at a site to be acquired in East Gwillimbury, creating 638 student spaces and 48 childcare spaces.

• A $6.8 million investment in the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board for an expansion to the Holy Trinity Catholic High School located at 100 Melbourne Drive in Bradford West Gwillimbury, creating 276 additional student spaces.

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 child care 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.

• Ontario secured a $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 under the Canada‑wide Early Learning and Child Care system.

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MEDIA CONTACT   Marisa Patricelli marisa.patricelli@pc.ola.org 905-895-1555