Ontario and federal governments commit to $1.5 billion in post-secondary infrastructure

The Ontario government has contributed $641.2 million to secure $587 million from the federal Knowledge Infrastructure Program (KIP), jumpstarting 28 projects at universities and colleges throughout the province. The federal portion accounts for 29.4% of the $2-billion stimulus program, which was announced in the last federal Budget to address accumulated deferred maintenance at post-secondary institutions and offset the impact of the deepening recession.

When $248 million from other sources is included, the program delivers $1.5 billion in funding to Ontario institutions, ranging from $70 million for a new laboratory centre at the Univ of Toronto's Mississauga campus to more than $103 million for a school of engineering and information technology at Conestoga College in Waterloo.

Funds from the two-year KIP have already been announced for British Columbia ($455 million), Alberta ($348 million) and Nova Scotia ($114 million),

Other major projects receiving funding include a new school of medicine at Queen's Univ ($77 million), a health and bioscience research complex at Brock Univ ($95.4 million), renovations and a new research building at the Univ of Ottawa ($112.5 million), a centre for engineering innovation at the Univ of Windsor ($110 million), a centre for international governance and innovation at the Univ of Waterloo ($100 million) and a health sciences centre at George Brown College ($95 million).

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