A new French public school is coming to Marathon, expected to be open in 2026

Marathon is getting a new school for French-speaking students thanks to $2.3 million in Ontario funding.

The new Ecole elementaire publique de Marathon was announced Thursday at a media event in Thunder Bay.

It will be operated by Conseil scolaire public du Grand Nord (CSPGN) and include 95 spaces for French-speaking students from junior kindergarten to Grade 6.

It will be built in an unused area inside the existing Margaret Twomey Public School, which is on Chisolm Trail and operated by the Superior Greenstone District School Board (SGDSB).

"There's no French public education available in Marathon, so as a French public school board, we have the responsibility to offer French public education when there's a need and when parents ask for it," said Sebastien Fontaine, CSPGN director of education. "We had some some parents ask it for it for several years."

Fontaine said the hope is the have the new school open by September 2026.

"The school board brought forth a proposal based on need and demand," said Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce. "There's growth in the French-language community. We're seeing that across Ontario.

"This is one of the first times in a long time that student enrolment is up, and not just in the French system that has been an incredible light in Ontario. Even while declining populations on the English side, we saw the French side rise because there's a value proposition."

Collaboration between English, French boards 

Lecce said the partnership between the English and French boards is an important part of the project, as well.

"It would be perhaps economically infeasible to build a school for 95 kids in that community," he said. "But partnering with an existing school board that had the capacity, had the space made sense to the board, which is why they brought it forth to [Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Kevin Holland] who then brought it to me, and here we are today.

"It's really based on the local advocacy of the community, the French-language community, the partnership of the English school board."

Nicole Morden-Cormier, director of education with the SGDSB, said the announcement is "incredible." 

"Superior Greenstone really believes in partnerships," she said. "We are small towns, and we recognize that schools are the heart of our communities.

"To be able to welcome the new school into the existing school, I think for us, is just incredible," Morden-Cormier said. "We really believe in supporting the needs of all students in the community. We have the space. Why would we not do this in terms of supporting all the children and families in in our community?"