Government of Canada Invests $13 Million in Lakehead's Orillia Campus
(September 4, 2009 - Orillia ON) The Honorable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, today announced the Government of Canada's commitment to invest $13 million in infrastructure funding toward the construction of a new multi-use academic building at the Lakehead University campus in Orillia.
The Knowledge Infrastructure Program is a two-year, $2-billion program designed to repair and expand research and educational facilities at Canadian colleges and universities. The program is helping to provide economic stimulus and promote employment by creating jobs for engineers, architects, tradespeople, and technicians.
"Our government is investing in innovation and infrastructure to promote employment, help our economy recover quickly and improve the quality of life of Canadians," said Minister Clement. "These investments are creating jobs for people now, while providing the infrastructure these post-secondary institutions need for years to come."
The new academic building in Orillia will allow Lakehead to offer more students academic programs in the Arts and Sciences, Education, Environmental Studies, Business Administration, and Social Work. It will also provide those students with a learning commons, a library, lecture and computer facilities, and will have laboratories for sciences learning and research.
The building will be part of Canada's first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum university campus. It will be a demonstration site for green technology, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability.
"Lakehead University and citizens of the City of Orillia and Simcoe County thank the federal government for this significant commitment to the permanent Orillia Campus," said Dr. Fred Gilbert, President of Lakehead University. "This far-sighted contribution to the well-being of the people of Central Ontario will support Canada's first LEED Platinum university campus, which will become a hallmark of sustainable and ecologically sensitive development and a centre of research and learning in the environmental sciences."
For further information about Canada's Economic Action Plan and the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, please visit the Industry Canada website.
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Media: For further information, please contact:
- Dr. Fred Gilbert (Lakehead University President) at 807-343-8200
- Dr. Kim Fedderson (Orillia Campus Dean) at 705-330-4008 ext. 2012
- Laryssa Waler (A/Press Secretary, Office of the Honorable Tony Clement, Ministry of Industry) at 613-995-9001
About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,900 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit http://www.lakeheadu.ca/