Edication Minister Jill Dunlop celebrates Swift Waters Elementary

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Ontario’s education minister was in town Thursday morning to celebrate an occasion seven years in the making.

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A ribbon-cutting was held at Swift Waters Elementary School, Brockville’s first new public school in more than 50 years, where Education Minister Jill Dunlop and a group of other dignitaries were on hand to celebrate the historic day.

The brand-new west-end school opened its doors for the first time at the beginning of September to kick off the school year, after first being announced to the community in 2017.

“This is a huge, huge, wonderful day,” said MPP Steve Clark, whose two grandchildren were sitting in the front row of a choir of students. 

“It’s a source of pride for me as the Member of Provincial Parliament, and it’s a source of pride for me as someone who is a Brockvillian and who realizes the importance of a school like Swift Waters to our community.” 

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The new school, the first public school built in Brockville since Vanier Public School opened in 1973, was built for students in kindergarten to Grade 6 on a 14.3-acre parcel of land at 556 King Street West. The facility had been under construction since October 2022 and amalgamated students from Commonwealth and Toniata public schools, which both closed at the end of June 2024.

Dunlop, who was visiting the school for the first time since being named education minister in August, thanked Clark for his advocacy to get the school open on time.  

“Brockville families are now benefiting from 500 new student spaces and 64 new child-care spaces. We all know that schools are at the heart of a community, and that’s why it’s important for young working families to have a school that’s close to home,” she said.  

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The building features 17 regular classrooms, four kindergarten rooms, a room dedicated to delivering special education support, a resource room, a large gym and learning commons, in addition to “several green initiatives including solar panels and electric car charging stations,” according to officials. 

It also includes 64 new child-care spaces, four new child-care rooms, and three new EarlyON rooms, which will provide programming for families and children from birth to six years old.

Also on hand at the event were MP Michael Barrett, Upper Canada District School Board education director Ron Ferguson, Swift Waters principal Sarah Stone, several board trustees, local politicians, board employees and parents.  

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“I know students are going to enjoy this building for years to come. The community will also enjoy the facilities. It is a privilege for the board to be a part of this,” said Jamie Schoular, chairman of the Upper Canada District School Board. 

When the project was first announced in 2017, the province initially said it would provide around $10 million in funding for the school construction. Costs skyrocketed in the following years, partly due to the timing of the project and increased prices of materials lining up with the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the province has provided millions more in funding, and the total cost of the project rose to $30,796,856. 

Ferguson said “a lot of people put in a lot of work” to bring the project to life, but it almost didn’t happen.

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“This started before the pandemic, and so things got a little tricky, and for a while, it looked like … this wouldn’t be on time and on budget, and we weren’t even sure if we’d be able to get it built,” Ferguson said.

But he added a great working relationship with Clark meant they were provided support and advocacy along the way, which led to the school’s completion.  

“It is true to say we would not be here today celebrating the opening of the school if it wasn’t for the efforts of MPP Clark,” he added. 

The school is a single-storey building and has the capacity for 504 students, but official enrolment numbers come in at 425. 

Those students were amalgamated from Commonwealth and Toniata public schools, which both closed as part of the pupil accommodation review in 2017, when then-trustees voted to close 12 schools throughout the sprawling board. 

According to board officials, the name Swift Waters comes from an area along the St. Lawrence River not far from the school. There’s a current between Smith Island and the mainland, near St. Lawrence Park, that is called Swift Waters, they said. 

It was chosen after students, parents, and staff from Commonwealth and Toniata were asked to submit name ideas to the school naming committee in the fall. 

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