St. Clair College getting almost $2.5 million for upgrades, repairs

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St. Clair College will receive nearly $2.5 million from the province to make much-needed repairs and upgrades to its aging facilities.

Chatham-Kent–Leamington MPP Rick Nicholls announced the funding at the Chatham campus, where roughly 1,500 of the college’s 13,000 students are enrolled.

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“There’s a need to upgrade our educational facilities,” Nicholls said. “Many of them are in dire need of retrofits or, in some cases, even new additions. The government has recognized that. As a result of that, we are providing funding to keep our students at top-quality colleges and universities.”

The college does not yet have a breakdown on how the money will be divided between its main campus in Windsor and its satellite campuses in Chatham and Toronto.

“We very much appreciate the ministry’s recognition that we need high-quality facilities to deliver high-quality education,” college president Patti France said in a statement. “Given that the college-wide college system was founded in the late-1960s, many of our primary buildings are now over 50 years old. As anyone who has owned a half-century-old home knows, the maintenance list is a long and ongoing one.”

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St. Clair will receive $2.49 million through the province’s $144-million Facilities Renewal Program.

It will also receive $763,500 to buy instructional equipment and resources through the $20-million Colleges Equipment and Renewal Fund.

“The college is such an important part of our community,” Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff said to Nicholls. “Thank you for bringing this money because I know it’s going to keep getting better and better here.”

Spending provincial funds on St. Clair College can help Chatham-Kent by bringing in students, Nicholls said.

“These capital funds make a real difference, not only to our province’s colleges and universities but to students and our local communities. … With the quality education that our colleges and our universities provide students, that may mean that these students don’t go back to their previous hometown but they actually stay in the community where they actually obtained their education because there are jobs waiting for them,” the MPP said.

The province’s economy has been “slammed” during the COVID-19 pandemic, but putting money into post-secondary schools can help with a recovery, he said.

The money will “ensure that our training partners, our education partners have the best type of facilities that will enhance student learning as well,” he said. “By working together, we can ensure that our province gets back on track and remains home to the best education system in the workplace.”