School construction reaches warp speed

Alberta’s population has seen unprecedented growth, and because of this growth student enrolment in kindergarten to Grade 12 schools has increased at historic rates. To keep pace with fast-rising enrolment, the province announced $8.6 billion to accelerate school construction and introduced a new approach to funding school projects, so they can advance to the next stage of construction as soon as they are ready.

As a result of this new funding approach, Alberta’s government has sped up 11 previously announced school projects in the Calgary Metropolitan Region and Edmonton from the design stage to full construction funding. This means that these projects are now closer to having shovels in the ground building new schools for Alberta’s students. These projects will create more than 12,000 new student spaces between Airdrie, Calgary, Chestermere, Edmonton, and Okotoks.  

“There is no two ways about it, Alberta is growing and growing fast, so we need to build schools now. That’s why we are making a generational investment of $8.6 billion, and fast-tracking school construction process. Our commitment to building schools will help us build and open 200,000 spaces for students in communities that need them the most all within the next seven years.” 
Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education

It is anticipated that these 11 school projects will be delivered through two public-private partnership bundles, with next steps being contractor selection and project design. Additional details such as total project costs and timelines will be available once contractors have been selected.

“Regardless of what stage of construction we are in, our priority is to get students into desks as quickly as possible, while ensuring their classrooms are well-built for years of learning. As Alberta communities continue to grow, this announcement allows us to meet demands for spaces faster and more efficiently. I’m excited to continue working with my ministry and industry partners on school builds, modernizations and renovations, supporting tens of thousands of jobs across the province and boosting our local and provincial economies.”
Pete Guthrie, Minister of Infrastructure

Funded as part of a $2.1 billion school capital investment by Alberta’s government last year, these 11 school projects are part of the government’s overall commitment to build and modernize more than 200,000 student spaces within the next seven years. The province will invest an additional $8.6 billion over the next three budget cycles to kick-start up to 90 new schools and as many as 24 renovations or replacements and roll out more modular classrooms.

Quick facts

• Since the introduction of the accelerated school construction process, a total of 22 previously announced school projects have been approved to move forward to the next stage of the construction process.
• The 11 projects advancing to construction funding were initially approved for design funding in March 2024. The projects are as follows:

Related news

• Fast-tracking new schools for Alberta students | La province accélère la construction de nouvelles écoles pour les élèves de l’Alberta (September 18, 2024)
• **UPDATED New schools in Alberta’s growing communities | **MIS À JOUR De nouvelles écoles dans les communautés albertaines en pleine croissance (March 11, 2024)

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