Capital Investments – Improving Ontario's Schools


The Ontario government has announced new capital funding for schools of more than $1 billion over the next three years, beginning in 2011-12. This includes:

  • $450 million for School Condition Improvement over the next three years to address school renewal needs; and
  • Up to $600 million over the next three years to support school board priority capital projects, including building or purchasing schools, building additions, or undertaking major retrofits to existing schools, and to support for under-served French-language rights-holders.

Since 2005, the Ontario government has invested $5.4 billion in a variety of ways to make schools better places to learn. When students are in good learning environments, they can focus on learning and personal achievement.

Good Places to Learn

The Ontario government's Good Places to Learn program was launched in 2005 to address the backlog of urgent school renewal needs and the need for new schools around the province. Projects included building new schools and expanding and retrofitting existing school facilities. Highlights of this investment include:

  • $2.25 billion for the backlog in school renewal (Good Places to Learn Stages 1-4)
  • $2.5 billion for new schools and additions to address Primary Class Size, school condition, growth, expanding access to French-language education, and other capital priority projects. This included $20 million for the Green Schools Pilot Initiative which is piloting a variety of innovative green products and technologies.

As of June 2011:

  • More than 23,000 school renewal projects, which include replacing roofs, windows and boilers, are completed or underway in schools across the province to reduce the backlog or renewal needs and make schools more energy efficient.
  • 500 new schools have been built, or are under construction or planned, including schools to:
    • address new residential growth;
    • replace schools that are in poor condition;
    • support the consolidation of underutilizied and/or poor condition schools; and
    • address the unique needs of French-language school boards
  • Schools have been expanded to support the reduction in primary class sizes.
  • Projects are underway around the province to expand schools to support the first three years of Full-Day Early Learning in Kindergarten.
  • Innovative green technology is being piloted in over 150 schools in 40 boards as part of the Green School Pilot Initiative.

Greening Ontario's Schools

The government has provided $550 million over the past two years to make schools more energy efficient, while supporting a stronger and greener economy. This Energy Efficient Schools investment includes:

  • $25 million for energy audits, studies and other non-capital costs
  • $75 million for small equipment (interval meters, new lighting systems, automation systems, etc.)
  • $300 million for energy-reducing renovations (roofs, windows, boilers, etc.)
  • $150 million for 35 projects involving renovations and retrofits of existing schools.

The government also invested $50 million for public school boards to reduce energy costs in schools by installing renewable energy technologies for heating or cooling schools or generating electricity.
This investment is supporting 135 projects in 126 schools (PDF, 20 KB). The projects cover a range of renewable energy technologies, including:

  • small-scale wind projects to generate electricity for use in schools,
  • solar photovoltaic to generate electricity
  • solar thermal for heating (air or water), and
  • geothermal systems for heating and cooling.

These projects will help school boards save money on energy costs or earn revenue by selling electricity back to the grid.  By reinvesting savings and revenue into local schools, boards will have more money to support student success. Solar panels and wind turbines can sell electricity back to the grid through the microFIT Program, an important part of the Green Energy Act.

In addition, the Green Schools Pilot Initiative is piloting a variety of innovative green products and technologies in over 150 Ontario schools. Learn more about pilot projects across the province.

Quick Facts:

  • There are 4,900 publicly funded schools in Ontario (4,000 elementary and 900 secondary schools).
  • These schools represent 280 million square feet or 2.2 million pupil places.
  • Ontario's elementary and secondary schools have significant energy costs – nearly half a billion dollars each year.
  • More than 1,000 publicly funded schools will be made more energy efficient to give kids better places to learn and help boards save energy and reduce costs.