The Ontario government has approved $21 million in funding for the creation of the first new Canadian school of architecture in four decades, according to the Sudbury Star.
One year later, the City of Sudbury pledged $10 million for the school’s creation.
Laurentian president Dominic Giroux has scheduled its launch for 2013, and expects the school to reach its full enrolment of 400 undergraduate and post-graduate students by 2018.
Planners estimate construction will cost approximately $35 million, and start-up costs at an estimated $9 million after its creation.
According to the Toronto Star, Laurentian will look for the remainder of the necessary funding from the federal government and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.
The project is the third new professional school planned for northern Ontario. A joint program at Laurentian and Lakehead University opened a medical school in 2005, and Lakehead is currently awaiting approval for the country’s first law school in over 40 years.
“From the beginning, the school of architecture at Laurentian University has been conceptualized as a true reflection of the unique culture and environment of northern Ontario,” said Giroux in a press release.
The LAL will offer a four-year undergraduate followed by a two-year master’s of architecture degree program, according to the project’s website.
Sudbury’s Liberal MPP claimed that a progressive Conservative government, if elected in the upcoming provincial election, would eliminate public funding for projects like the LAL. Sudbury’s PC candidate denied the claim, suggesting the $21 million would remain committed if the Tories win the election this October, according to the the Sudbury Star.
