Ontario Building a Second New High School School in Wasaga Beach
Government supporting new schools and additions across the province with a $1.3 billion investment
January 28, 2025 – For Immediate Release
Wasaga Beach, ON – Today, Brian Saunderson, MPP for Simcoe-Grey proudly announced that the Ontario government is investing $59.3 million to build a second new Wasaga Beach High School.
This will support the creation of 1,145 secondary student spaces in Wasaga Beach as part of the government’s commitment to building modern learning spaces for Ontario students.
This project is part of $1.3 billion in funding to build new schools and expansions, including childcare spaces, announced as part of the Ministry of Education’s Capital Priorities Program.
“As a dynamic and growing community on the scenic southern shores of Georgian Bay, Wasaga Beach has a long standing need for a community high school,” said MPP Brian Saunderson. “With this important investment, this government is addressing that need to provide local students with access to a best-in-class learning experience enhanced by a full compliment of extracurricular programs and school events in their own community.”
The Town of Wasaga Beach welcomes this latest investment by the Ontario government to ensure that kids in Wasaga Beach can go to high school right here in our fast-growing community,” said Mayor Brian Smith. “Our Town and Council have been relentless in advocating on behalf of students and families in Wasaga Beach, and in less than one year, we are thrilled to welcome over $116 million in provincial funding for not just one, but two high schools in Wasaga Beach. This government continues to listen and invest in new schools and improved infrastructure in Wasaga Beach that will positively impact our community for generations to come.”
The ongoing investments in education and child care projects will result in over 25,000 new student spaces and more than 1,600 licensed child care spaces at school sites across Ontario.
“As a mother, I understand that the local school really is the heart of the community. It’s so important for young families to have a school that’s close to home,” said Jill Dunlop, Minister of Education. “Our government is proud to deliver a new Wasaga Beach Secondary School for local families, along with increasing funding, staffing and a back-to-basics focus on reading, writing and math to help ensure students graduate with the fundamental skills they need to succeed.”
Schools and child care centres are an essential piece of the community landscape. Funding these local infrastructure projects demonstrates that the government is meeting urgent needs to address growth related to demographic changes and housing development.
“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.”
“This is a very welcomed announcement for the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB),” said Dawn Stephens, Director of Education. “Staff have worked hard to put forward a strong business case and we are grateful that these efforts have attracted the funds required for a much needed secondary school in Wasaga Beach. Wasaga Beach, like many communities in Simcoe County, continues to experience significant growth. A new high school will ensure that SCDSB students have the opportunity to continue to learn and grow in their community”.
Wasaga Beach Secondary School will be located at Sunnidale Road South and Sun Valley Avenue in Wasaga Beach.
QUICK FACTS
- Ontario is meeting the needs of growing communities with over 200 new schools and additions underway that will create over 97,000 pupil spaces in the coming years.
- For the 2024-25 school year, the ministry has allocated renewal funding of approximately $1.4 billion to school boards to renew and improve schools.
- The investment is part of Ontario’s commitment to provide about $16 billion to support new school construction, renewal and improvement over 10 years.
- In December 2023, the Ministry of Education announced Ontario’s plan to help build schools faster through a transparent, accountable and more efficient process. 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.
- 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.
- The government is committed to providing families with more affordable and accessible child care as part of the federal government’s national child care program. Effective January 1,2025, Ontario has capped child care fees at $22 per day for families with children in programs enrolled in the Canada‑wide Early Learning and Child Care system.