The Liberal government has announced funding for eight new schools, including one in Charlotte County, totaling $193.7 million.
A francophone school has been slated for the southwest, including the St. George, St. Stephen, and Saint Andrews areas. It also promised a new francophone school for Sussex and Hampton.
“The funding includes $14.6 million for new major school projects,” the release said.
It set aside $14 million for the provincewide ventilation program. The funding allocated $2 million for a universal washroom program, and $163.1 million for ongoing construction projects, equipment, improvements, repairs, and the dust collector program to ensure schools remain safe for students and staff.
However, Francophone Sud took legal action against the government for a lack of investment in the educational sector in southwestern New Brunswick.
“The investments needed to expand and renovate our existing schools and build new ones are clearly insufficient at the DSFS,” said a news release translated from French back in September 2024.
“After years of delays in crucial investments in school infrastructure, which are necessary to meet the rapid population growth of our district, our demands are met with a lack of action from the current government.”
The legal challenge against the province
The Francophone South School District encompasses Saint John, Kings, Charlotte, and Sunbury counties, and has about 37 francophone schools.
In a statement, the district said it welcomes the investments in the 2025-26 capital budget.
“We are pleased that the government recognizes the importance of planning these two schools in the St. Stephen–St. George and Sussex–Hampton regions,” said Genevieve Chiasson, a spokesperson for the district. “These schools will play a key role in ensuring rights holder students’ access to francophone education in these predominantly anglophone regions.”
However, Chiasson said the two schools only address a fraction of the 16 proposals sent to the department by the district.
“It is crucial that additional actions be taken promptly to tackle the ongoing challenges,” she said in the statement. “The regions of Dieppe, Fredericton, Miramichi, Moncton, Riverview, Saint John, and Saint-Louis-de-Kent continue to face growing pressures related to overcrowding, aging infrastructure, the need for additional investments to meet the needs of immigrant students, and evolving demographics.”
It said the legal action taken against the government is “but a means to defend the constitutional rights of our francophone students in the face of critical infrastructure needs that have persisted for years.”
The district argues ignoring our pressing infrastructure needs compromises not only the district’s ability to meet its obligations but also the educational future of francophone students in the province, which is bilingual.
It said it had requested a meeting with Premier Susan Holt, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development to discuss its priorities.
“We believe in the power of dialogue and collaboration to build a strong educational future,” Chiasson said. “If the current government demonstrates its commitment to addressing our district’s infrastructure needs for the next 10 years through concrete actions and an ambitious plan, we would be open to reassessing the relevance of our legal action.”
It said its priority is to ensure a safe, inclusive, and nurturing environment, and to achieve that, it needs adequate schools capable of accommodating our students in conditions that reflect our values and ambitions for the future.
Holt committed to that meeting with the district while speaking with reporters on Thursday.
“We’re certainly keen to invest in educational infrastructure because we know what a deficit New Brunswick is facing,” she said. “We are doing everything we can to make up for that deficit and catch up on the state of our schools so I’m happy to sit down with them and talk about the plans and what we have capacity to deliver this year and next year.”
Holt said she wants to ensure there is an equitable system.
Other projects announced
New schools or upgrades have also been announced in:
- a mid-life upgrade for Polyvalente W.-Arthur-Losier in Tracadie
- an addition to École Abbey-Landry in Memramcook
- a mid-life upgrade for Polyvalente Louis-J.-Robichaud in Shediac
- a replacement for Inglewood and Grand Bay Primary schools
- an addition to Saint Mary’s Academy in Edmundston
- a new kindergarten-to-Grade 8 school in the Lincoln Heights/Southwood Park/Doak Road area of Fredericton
Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Claire Johnson said the government is committed to ensuring every child has access to safe, modern, and well-equipped schools that support their learning journey.
“With our growing population and rising enrolment, these investments in school infrastructure are both timely and essential and will help ensure we have a sustainable education system. And they represent our continued dedication to invest in our youth.”
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