The Ontario government has pledged half a billion dollars to fund construction and renovation works at 37 school projects across the province, and has tapped five to be delivered under a rapid build pilot project.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced the news on April 21. The $500 million in funding will be delivered under the province’s 2022–2023 Capital Priorities Program. The scope of work sees the creation of nearly 15,700 new student spaces and just over 1,500 new licenced child-care spaces in schools.

The announcement was made at Dr. David R. Williams Public School in Oakville, where the Halton District School Board will receive nearly $24 million to build a new public elementary school for the new development in the northeast community of Oakville.

“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 Lecce. “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 over 10 years to support school construction, repair, and renewal. There are currently more than 300 child care and education building-related projects in development across Ontario with more than 100 actively under construction.

The province also announced that it will work in partnership with Infrastructure Ontario and several school boards to launch a Rapid Build pilot project. The initiative will draw on Infrastructure Ontario’s rapid procurement and rapid delivery expertise, and could adopt use modular construction methodologies.

The five schools selected for the pilot are:

• New Northglen Neighbourhood School - Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board
• New Centre Wellington Elementary School - Upper Grand District School Board
• École élémentaire catholique Saint-Viateur Addition - Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l'Est ontarien
• Mary Catholic Elementary School Addition - Northwest Catholic District School Board
• J. O'Neill Catholic Elementary School Addition - Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board

"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 Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma.

Since 2018, the province has invested more than $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.