School expansion mirrors rapid growth in Kincardine, Ont.

There is finally room for the entire student population of St. Anthony’s Catholic School in Kincardine to fit in the same gym for an assembly.

This gathering is special, marking a $13.9 million expansion that added space for nearly 200 students.

“There were less than 300 students when I taught here in 2011, now we have over 510 students. It’s a good problem to have,” said St. Anthony’s Principal, Samantha Pitre.

The expansion of St. Anthony’s — which included eight new classrooms, an expanded gym, and 78 space childcare centre — is indicative of the growth happening in Kincardine.

The community is within a 15 minute drive of Canada's largest nuclear plant, Bruce Power, with more than 4,000 employees, most of them very well paid.

A 20 year construction project to refurbish most of the nuclear fleet, and plans to build more reactors in the near future, means Kincardine won’t stop growing for decades to come.

Students and staff celebrate the $13.9 million expansion of St. Anthony’s Catholic School in Kincardine, Ont. on Feb. 5. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

“Years ago there was a myth that Kincardine was a retirement community. The number of kids here at St. Anthony’s and at other school in our community, there’s no indication this a retirement town. This is a community for young people, for families,” said Kincardine Mayor, Kenneth Craig.

“Kincardine is a growing community. We had six portables on site, and with the completion of this project we can have all the students in the building, plus an additional daycare centre to support the Kincardine community,” said Grey-Bruce Catholic District School Board, Director of Education, Gary O’Donnell.

Students and staff celebrate the $13.9 million expansion of St. Anthony’s Catholic School in Kincardine, Ont. on Feb. 5. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

In 2016, Kincardine had 11,389 residents, in 2021 that number hit 12,268, and it has only gone up from there, which means all eight classrooms added to St. Anthony’s are already full.

“We had eight displaced classrooms last year, and now we have eight classrooms and a childcare centre. Those eight classrooms are full,” said Pitre.

Plans to build a brand new high school in Kincardine are also in the works, as the community braces for years of growth. 

St. Anthony’s Catholic School Principal Samantha Pitre speaks to students at the school expansion celebration on Feb. 5, 2024 in Kincardine, Ont. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)