Ontario Building New School and Expanding Existing School in Hamilton

Province supports new student spaces and child care spaces 

NEWS	April 12, 2024

HAMILTON — The Ontario government is investing $31.2 million in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board for the new Waterdown Bay Elementary School and an addition to Mount Hope Elementary School, helping working families in the Hamilton Region. This investment, announced by Donna Skelly, MPP for Flamborough—Glanbrook, will support the creation of 682 student spaces and 176 licensed child care spaces as part of the government’s commitment to building state-of-the-art learning spaces for Ontario students.

“Flamborough-Glanbrook is one of the fastest growing communities in Ontario due to its unlimited potential,” said Donna Skelly, MPP for Flamborough-Glanbrook. “By investing in early learning, we are laying the foundation for the next generation of leaders and innovators, to build on this success.”

These projects are part of a $1.3 billion investment to support new school construction and expansions to existing schools, including child care spaces, announced by Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, as part of the Capital Priorities Program. 

The overall investment, which is the highest ever made in a single year, supports 60 school‑related projects – 39 new school builds and 21 expansions to existing schools – including child care spaces for 27 projects. This funding will add more than 27,000 new student spaces and more than 1,700 licensed child care spaces at schools across Ontario. 

“This $1.3 billion in funding 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.”

The new plan will provide 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 strategy to ensure that 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; 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 through the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act to building schools faster and better employing taxpayer-funded assets. 

Highlights of the projects include:

• A $22.1 million investment for a new Waterdown Bay Elementary School to be located at Skinner Rd E & Great Falls Blvd in Hamilton, creating 504 student spaces and 88 licensed child care spaces. 

• A $9.1 million investment for a new addition at Mount Hope Elementary School located at 9149 Airport Rd in Hamilton, creating 178 student spaces and 88 licensed child care spaces. 

QUOTES

“Today, families across Waterdown-Flamborough who have passionately championed this cause will breathe a sigh of relief. Now, it’s up to us—the province, the city, and the school board—to honour this commitment, to transform dollars and cents into brick and mortar. I’m eager to collaborate further with MPP Skelly, Councillor McMeekin, and HWDSB staff to expedite this critical project.”

“Mount Hope is an ever-growing community, and we know that the addition of six classrooms and a library, as well as the interior renovations, will be welcomed school improvements by the students, staff, and families of Mount Hope Elementary. The addition of 88 full-day childcare spaces is also fantastic news, and I’m thrilled for families to be able to access full-day child care within their own community.”

– Amanda Fehrman

HWDSB Ward 11 and 12 Trustee

“I am thrilled with the announcement of this funding for a new K-8 School in Waterdown, this new school will make an immeasurable positive impact on the children and families of our rapidly growing community. I am very grateful for the unwavering support of Donna Skelly and her team and our school trustee Graeme Noble in advocating for these funds.”

– Carly Casey

Parent Council Chair at Mary Hopkins Elementary School

QUICK FACTS

• In December 2023, the Ministry of Education announced Ontario’s plan to help build schools fasterthrough 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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MPP CONTACT INFO

Samantha Moore

Office of Donna Skelly, Flamborough-Glanbrook MPP

905-679-3770