EDUCATION (ONTARIO): 1) Education Minister ‘very optimistic’ about school year even as teacher contract talks stall; 2) Lakehead’s downtown Barrie STEM Hub complete ahead of first classes; 3) Ontario announces $10M in new skills development funding

1) Education Minister ‘very optimistic’ about school year even as teacher contract talks stall

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Ian MacLennan, August 20, 2026

Education Minister Paul Calanadra says he remains “very optimistic” about the upcoming school year even though it will begin without a new contract for Ontario’s teachers and education workers.

“School will open as usual,” Calandra said at an unrelated news conference in Bradford West Gwillimbury on Thursday. “The year will start as scheduled, and it is my expectation that kids will be in the classroom for a very long time. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t expect the year to be completed and students to be in the classroom the entire time.”

Current education contracts are set to expire at the end of the month. Negotiations for a new deal have stalled before they even really started, with the parties not agreeing on which issues should be bargained with the province and which should be dealt with at a local level.

“Every time we negotiate with the teacher unions, there are a number of points we don’t agree on and that find their way to the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) and cause a delay,” Calandra said. “This is not new.”

Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation president Martha Hradowy says the government is trying to further centralize talks, moving issues such as transfer, layoff and recall language away from local tables.

Hradowy says talks should be continuing on the issues both sides agree are central, such as class sizes and workloads.

The central-local split issue has been referred to the OLRB, effectively stalling bargaining.

But Calandra says it’s essential to have the certainty of what issues will be negotiated centrally before approaching bargaining as a whole.

“You can’t negotiate wages, you can’t negotiate classroom sizes if you don’t know exactly what you’re negotiating centrally and what you are negotiating locally.”

At the annual meeting of the Elementary Teachers Union of Ontario (ETFO), the union said strike action is a consideration should there be no agreement, though job action is not the first choice.

ETFO warned that the province’s education system is in “crisis”, citing chronic underfunding, a reported attack on how many sick days teachers take, and conditions educators are facing in the classroom.

Calandra took questions while visiting the newly constructed $27.9 million St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Elementary School, which will have more than 500 students and provide 49 licenced child care spaces.

The province says the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board will also welcome students this fall to the new Our Lady of Peace Catholic Elementary School in Tottenham, with room for 500 students and 49 licenced child care spaces. The tab to build the school was $28.2 million.

Holy Trinity Catholic High School in Bradford West Gwillimbury will have 276 more student spaces with the opening of a $10.9 million addition.

The government says the Simcoe County District School Board has had funding approved for five new projects which are scheduled to open in the next five years.

They include a 141-student space addition and retrofit at Baxter Central Public Elementary School in Essa Township ($6.1M), a 184-student-space addition to Emma King Elementary School in Barrie ($6.5M), a new 426-student-space elementary school in Tottenham ($20.2M), a 144-student-space addition to Nottawa Elementary School in Clearview Township ($4.7M), a 665-student-space elementary school replacement in Barrie ($29.9M).

with files from The Canadian Press

2) Lakehead’s downtown Barrie STEM Hub complete ahead of first classes

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Julius Hern, August 20, 2026

Lakehead University’s first campus in Barrie is officially complete, with the first students set to arrive downtown next month.

The Barrie STEM Hub spans two downtown locations — on Maple Avenue and on Ross Street — with nearly 2,500 sq. metres of lab and classroom space for engineering, mechatronics and computer science.

Officials from the City of Barrie and the university cut the ribbon on Thursday at the Maple Avenue facility ahead of students taking their first classes inside the city’s former transit terminal on Sept. 8.

Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall highlighted the change in the building’s purpose, noting that the site was previously used to drop off people released from prison.

“Four years ago, this was the place where individuals were dropped on the side of the road in a city they didn’t know, with nothing, when they were released from [Central North Correctional Centre],” he said. “(Less than) two weeks from now, this is the place where parents are going to be dropping their young people at their first day of university.”

After transit operations moved to the new Allandale Transit Terminal last year, the former terminal’s lower level was renovated into a modern education space. Its former bus platforms on the west side have also been transformed into a courtyard for students.

The City of Barrie’s investment in the campus was for $9.9 million, committed in November 2024, from various reserve funds. The province also provided a one-time fund of $1 million to assist Barrie with addressing student housing needs.

“[It] represents far more than a new educational facility: it’s an investment in talent, an investment in innovation and opportunity,” he said. “It creates a pathway for students to pursue in-demand careers right here in Barrie, while helping local employers access that skilled and talented workforce they need to grow and succeed.”

Barrie is also home to Georgian College’s flagship campus, with the college continuing its partnership with Lakehead and the City.

Lakehead president Dr. Gillian Siddall says the facility’s opening marks a new era for Barrie.

“This space will become a place where ideas are developed, connections are made, and the next generation of talent helps shape helps shape the future of this city,” she said.

Lakehead expects the hub to eventually bring upwards of 800 students, researchers and employees into downtown Barrie over its five-year lease of the facility.

The university’s main campus is in Thunder Bay, but it’s had a presence in Orillia since 2016.

3)Ontario announces $10M in new skills development funding

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Allison Jones, August 18, 2026

Ontario is spending $10 million on six programs to give people training in the skilled trades as part of its Skills Development Fund.

The fund gained notoriety after the province’s auditor general found last year that the way the government had been selecting successful applications and disbursing money from the $2.5-billion fund was not fair, transparent or accountable.

Integrity commissioner Cathryn Motherwell is investigating allegations from the opposition parties that Labour Minister David Piccini breached ethics rules in handing out the skills training funding.

The government says it has made changes to how it selects projects through this sixth round of funding, including requiring applications to disclose the use of registered lobbyists and analyzing individuals associated with applications, in addition to the organization.

The projects splitting the latest $10 million in skills development funding include YMCA-led training for construction jobs, automotive service training and a program giving young people skills in the electrical trades.

Piccini says the fund helps people build rewarding careers and strengthen the workforce that will build Ontario’s homes and infrastructure.