Ontario Building New School in Wasaga Beach
Province’s investment in innovative and modern learning spaces will ensure students have high quality education in a safe and healthy environment
Wasaga Beach, ON – As part of the province’s ongoing efforts to build and improve local schools, the Ontario government has provided the Simcoe County District School Board with approval to award the tender for the new Wasaga Beach Public School. This is supported by an investment of $22.5 million.
Once completed, this project will deliver 406 elementary spaces for local families. The investment is part of the Ontario government’s commitment to providing approximately $15 billion to support school construction, repair, and renewal 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.
“The funding for a new Wasaga Beach Public School is great news for our Wasaga Beach community,” said Brian Saunderson, MPP for Simcoe-Grey. “This investment will ensure families and students have access to a quality learning environment in the years ahead.”
Additionally, Ontario is taking action to ensure that school board capital assets are used effectively and efficiently to meet the needs of growing communities, support student learning and ensure value for taxpayer dollars. The Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act will empower decision-makers to build modern schools faster by better utilizing school capacity, reducing barriers for school boards to facilitate agreements for schools in multi-use buildings such as condo towers, and shortening planning time by requiring school boards to use certain designs or plans when constructing, renovating, or making additions to schools.
“We are determined to build schools and expansions faster, part of our commitment to modernize schools in fast growing communities,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. “We are proud to deliver a new, state-of-the-art Wasaga Beach Public School for local families, along with increasing funding, staffing and tutoring to help ensure students graduate with confidence that they can succeed in good paying careers.”
Highlights of the project include:
• 406 new student spaces
• Over 4800 sq. ft of community use space in joint partnership with the Town of Wasaga Beach
“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.”
“Wasaga Beach continues to be one of the fastest growing communities in Ontario. The town is proud to partner with the Ontario government and Simcoe County District School Board to build this state-of-the art school and multi-use facility that will serve as a much-needed school and community resource.” said Brian Smith, Mayor of the Town of Wasaga Beach. “Today’s investment is good news for our town, our families and students, and the future of Wasaga Beach.”
“We are pleased to have received the approval to proceed with construction of the new elementary school in Wasaga Beach,” said John Dance, Director of Education for the Simcoe County District School Board. “Simcoe County continues to experience significant growth and the new school in Wasaga Beach will help alleviate accommodation pressures experienced in this growing community. We look forward to continuing our work with the Town of Wasaga Beach on this exciting new facility partnership.”
Wasaga Beach Public School will be located at 42 Union Boulevard in Wasaga Beach.
Quick Facts:
• Since 2018, the Ontario government has invested over $2.2 billion in capital projects in education, including 100 new schools, 88 additions and renovations to existing facilities and nearly 6,500 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.
• In April 2023, Ontario introduced The Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act that will ensure the public education system focuses on what matters most: important life-long skills such as reading, writing and math; improve accountability and transparency for parents and families; and build schools faster while better utilizing current school spaces to get more classrooms into communities that need them.
• 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.
Media Contact:
Jamie Berman – Office of MPP Brian Saunderson
jamie.berman@pc.ola.org