Ontario Government Building New School in York South-Weston

June 23^rd, 2023

As part of Ontario’s ongoing efforts to build and improve local schools, the province has provided the Toronto Catholic District School Board with approval to award the tender for the construction of the new St. Fidelis Catholic Elementary School to create 649 elementary spaces and 49 licensed child care spaces for local families.

“This is great news for our community and brings us one step closer to getting shovels in the ground to build the new St. Fidelis Catholic Elementary School,” said Michael Ford, MPP for York South – Weston. “Our government’s $31.7 million investment to support the construction of this project reflects our commitment to helping students succeed and reach their full potential. Once completed, the new school will ensure families and students in York South – Weston have access to a modern, high quality learning environment for years to come.”

This $31.7 million 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.

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 St. Fidelis Catholic Elementary School for North York 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:

649 new student spaces
3 new child care rooms (49 new child care spaces)
Demolition of the former Nelson A. Boylen Secondary School

“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.”

The new St. Fidelis Catholic Elementary School will be located at 155 Falstaff Avenue in North York.

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.