Ontario Building School in Markham

Investment will Support Access to Quality Education Opportunities for Working Families

MARKHAM —The Ontario government is investing $14.5 million to build a new Unnamed Markham Centre Elementary School to help working families in Markham. This investment in York Region District School Board announced by Billy Pang, MPP for Markham – Unionville, will support the creation of 638 student spaces as part of the Ford Government’s commitment to building modern, accessible, and technologically connected schools for Ontario youth.

The project is part of a provincewide investment of more than $600 million to support new school and child care spaces that were recently announced by Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. The overall investment will support 78 school and child care related projects. As part of this investment, the province dedicated more than $565 million to create more than 19,700 new student spaces and 1,500 child care spaces at schools across the province.

“In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made safer schools a priority, which is why we continue to invest in modern and accessible learning spaces with improved ventilation,” said Minister Lecce. “This investment is part of our multiyear plan to build, expand, and update schools and child care spaces across our province. It will leave a lasting legacy that benefits working families for years to come.”

“The new Unnamed Markham Centre Elementary School is great news for our community,” said Billy Pang, MPP for Markham – Unionville. “This investment will provide choice and flexibility for families and new opportunities for the children of Markham.” Ontario’s investment in new and updated schools will create the foundation for a modern learning environment for hundreds of students across the province.

Highlights of the project include:

• 638 elementary student spaces.

“We are excited by the announcement of the funding for the new Markham-Centre elementary school. We look forward to using this space to create a safe, welcoming and inclusive school for students and staff alike,” said York Region District School Board Director of Education Louise Sirisko. “We are also looking forward to seeing the new learning opportunities that will come as a result of this new location.”

The Ontario government has allocated more than $600 million to support ventilation improvements in schools across Ontario as part of its plans for a safer return to school. The York Region DSB has benefited from an investment of $17.5 million for ventilation improvements and has over 1100 HEPA filter units in place. Unnamed Markham Centre ES will be located in Markham.

QUOTES

“The addition of a new school in Markham-Centre and 638 new student spaces is an exciting one for our board. We look forward to providing learning experiences that prepare students for the jobs of today and tomorrow in this new space.”
Allan Tam, York Region District School Board Chair

“Markham is an area of York Region that is growing rapidly, and this new school will help accommodate the needs of the growing population.”
Ron Lynn, York Region District School Board Vice-Chair

Quick Facts:

• On November 4, the province released the 2021 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: Build Ontario. The plan lays out how the government will build the foundation for Ontario’s recovery and prosperity by getting shovels in the ground on projects like new schools and child care.

• Since 2018, the Ontario government has invested over $1.5 billion in capital projects in education, including 76 new schools, 75 additions and renovations to existing facilities and 4,908 new licensed child care places.

• The governments of Canada and Ontario are providing $656.5 million in funding for critical infrastructure projects to protect students and staff from COVID-19 in the province’s schools through the COVID-19 Resilience stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.

• The federal government provides 2.5 per cent of the total cost support for early learning and child care operating expenses in Ontario, with Ontario families, the provincial and municipal governments providing the remainder.

• Ontario has provided emergency child care for the school-aged children of frontline workers, including public safety and health care workers, as well as those working with vulnerable populations, at no out-of-pocket cost. In 2021, at its peak, this program provided over 12,000 children with high-quality child care each day across 717 sites province-wide.

• Ontario is providing a 20 per cent enhancement of the Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses (CARE) tax credit for 2021. This will increase support from $1,250 to $1,500 per family, on average, providing about $75 million in additional support for the 2021 child care expenses of over 300,000 families.