Niagara Catholic board gets $32.6M for new Thorold school and Niagara Falls high school expansion

The Niagara Catholic District School Board is receiving $32.6 million in provincial capital funding, with the bulk of the money earmarked for a new Catholic elementary school in Thorold.

According to CHCH, $25.8 million of the announcement will go toward building the new school, which is intended to ease enrolment pressure at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Elementary School.

Childcare spaces included

A further $2.3 million will be used to build a three-room childcare centre at the new school, the report said.

"This is great news for Niagara Catholic and for families in Thorold who want to send their child to a Catholic elementary school," Rhianon Burkholder, vice chair of the board, told CHCH.

The Ministry of Education also committed $4.5 million to expand Saint Michael Catholic High School in Niagara Falls.

Both Our Lady of the Holy Rosary and Saint Michael are currently overcrowded, a situation the board links to a surge in local development across the region.

"Built quickly and on schedule"

"We're building the schools students need and we're making sure they get built quickly and on schedule," Education Minister Paul Calandra told CHCH.

"With stronger oversight and accountability through the Putting Student Achievement First Act, we are ensuring projects are delivered on time and focused on students, so that parents can be confident their children have the tools and opportunities they need to thrive," Calandra said.

Fourth capital project for the board

The announcement brings the number of Niagara Catholic capital projects in progress or approved for funding to four.

St. Luke Catholic Elementary School in Beamsville is scheduled to open in 2027, while a new Catholic elementary school planned for McLeod and Kalar roads in south Niagara Falls is in the design stage, CHCH reported.

For families in Thorold and Niagara Falls, the funding signals relief for schools that have been stretched by rapid residential growth, though the board has not announced opening dates for the new Thorold school or the Saint Michael expansion.