Rae announces next stage of child care addition in Listowel 

[Listowel, ON] – Today, Matthew Rae, MPP for Perth-Wellington announced that Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) was provided a scope change and approval to tender the child care addition at Listowel Eastdale Public School. This is supported by an additional $2.1 million from the province, which brings the total funding to over $6.4 million.  

When completed, this centre will provide 3 additional child care rooms, 98 new pupil spaces, and 49 licenced child care spaces.  

“This is an important announcement for Listowel, surrounding communities, and the many young families that reside here,” Rae said. “It is investments like these that make our rural communities both more affordable and attractive for families.” 

This investment is part of Ontario’s commitment to providing $14 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. 

“Our government is investing $14 billion over ten years to build new schools, improve existing facilities and create child care spaces to ensure young people can reach their full potential,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. “By building the new state-of-the-art child care centre at Listowel Eastdale Public School, as well as investing in tutoring and mental health supports for the year ahead, we are getting students back on track now and well into the future. While we make progress building this child care centre at Listowel Eastdale Public School to support hard-working parents, we remain committed to keeping students in more normal classrooms with extra curriculars, sports, and clubs.”  

“We are thrilled to engage in this multi-sector partnership that enables us all to support the families that we serve,” said Dr. Lisa Walsh, Director of Education. “This additional funding from the Province of Ontario will support our project to reduce space pressures at Listowel Eastdale and improve access to child care for Listowel families and we are grateful for this support.” 

“We look forward to the next phase of this project and appreciate the continued and additional support from the province,” added Cheri Carter, Superintendent of Corporate Services. “This funding will help cover the ever-rising costs of creating the much-needed elementary student spaces at Listowel Eastdale and provide additional childcare spaces in the Listowel community.” 

“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 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.” 

Since 2018, the Ontario government has invested over $2.0 billion in capital projects in education, including 100 new schools, 88 additions and renovations to existing facilities, and 6,410 new licensed child care spaces. 

For the 2022-23 school year, the province is providing school boards with $1.4 billion in funding to revitalize and renew aged building systems and components.