MPP Rae Announces New Catholic Elementary School in Drayton

[Drayton, ON] – Today, Matthew Rae, MPP for Perth-Wellington, and the Honourable Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, joined local dignitaries in Drayton to announce over $17 million towards a new elementary school and childcare centre in the Township of Mapleton.

“As our communities grow, I am focused on working with our local school boards and municipalities to secure generational investments like this one today,” said MPP Rae. “Our provincial government will continue to invest in our rural education system to ensure families can access high quality education and affordable childcare. I want to thank Minister Lecce, Mayor Davidson, Mapleton Council and Staff, and the Wellington Catholic District School Board for making this day a reality.”

The new Catholic elementary school will have 222 student spaces and 64 childcare spaces.

This project is part of a $1.3 billion plan that more than doubles funding to build new schools and expansions, including childcare 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 the creation of more than 27,000 new student spaces and more than 1,700 licensed childcare spaces at schools across Ontario.

“Our government is more than doubling the funding to build new schools, which 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. I want to reiterate my thanks to MPP Mathew Rae for his relentless advocacy for local families.”

“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 an exciting day for the Mapleton community,” said Gregg Davidson, Mayor for the Township of Mapleton. “For many years local families have struggled to find adequate child care for their children. That child care drought is now over as the Provincial Government has rained child care dollars in Mapleton. Additionally, we are getting a brand-new school to support our growing community. Thank you, Minister Lecce, for seeing our need and vision and our local MPP Matt Rae for his advocacy. Our local children and families are benefitting from this funding announcement.”

Funding as provided by the Ministry of Education:

School	New Student Spaces	New Childcare Spaces	Funding Amount
Drayton Catholic Elementary School	222	64	$17,300,000

Additional Quotes

“We are grateful to the Government of Ontario for bringing faith-based education and needed childcare spaces to families in Drayton and our surrounding communities. This process has been many years in the making and is the result of a productive collaboration and the hard work of Wellington Catholic DSB staff, our partners at the County of Wellington, leaders in the Mapleton community and of course the many families who have been advocating for education opportunities within this region.”

–Tracy McLennan, Associate Director, Wellington Catholic District School Board

“On behalf of the County of Wellington, I would like to thank the Government of Ontario for investing in a new elementary school and licensed child care and learning centre in Mapleton, and the Wellington Catholic District School Board for partnering with us on this important project. By forming strong partnerships, we strengthen our community and invest in the future of our children. This future child care and learning centre will help support the parents and caregivers of 64 children so they are able participate in the labour force or pursue educational activities.”

–Andy Lennox, Warden, Wellington County

Quick Facts:

• These investments follow recent local announcements for additional student and childcare spaces:
  • $8.8 million for Listowel Eastdale Public Elementary School
  • $2.9 million for Milverton Public School
  • $5.2 million for St. Joseph Catholic School (Fergus)

• The investment is part of Ontario’s commitment to provide about $16 billion to support new school construction, repair, and renewal over 10 years.

• 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.

• 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.