It's Time

The story of Barrie is one of growth. With a population of more than 140,000 and a strategic reach into the GTA, Barrie is the largest census metropolitan area in Canada without a university. We know that Barrie is ready for its own university campus. Laurentian has been a significant part of the Barrie community for over a decade, with a range of programs that enrich the post-secondary opportunities open to this fast-growing region, and we're ready to build that university campus. Join us in saying #itstime for a Laurentian University Campus in Barrie.

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The Facts

• Laurentian has been delivering programs in Barrie since 2001 and has a proven track record of being a vital part of the socioeconomic and creative life of the community.
• We currently serve 1,000 students in Commerce, English, History, Political Science, Psychology, Social Work, and Sociology.
• We currently have thirty-two faculty and staff living and working in Barrie.
• We already have a total of $28M pledged from the City of Barrie and Laurentian
• An Economic Impact Study by KPMG stated that a $60M initial capital project would generate an estimated $102M in total economic activity, of which the majority ($84M) would be in the City of Barrie. At full operations, the campus would generate an estimated $56M in annual total economic activity.
• Only 13% of Barrie citizens have a university degree, compared with 21% provincially. If Barrie had the average university studies participation rate, there would be 11,000 more citizens with a university degree.

Our Vision for a Barrie campus

• To build a standalone campus within the City of Barrie's core. The campus is expected to accommodate an enrollment of 2,500 FTE (approximately 3,000 total student count) by 2020.

Project Vision for September 2020:

• $60M academic facility of approx. 160,000+ square feet
• Jointly funded by Laurentian ($14M), City of Barrie ($14M) and the province ($40M)      
• $10M student centre
• Student residence on university-owned property
• 550 parking spaces on university-owned property
• Potential academic areas of study including; Data Centre Design, Operation, and Management and Communications Infrastructure Engineering. Also contemplated are engineering programs serving the growing mining supply, planning and IT sectors.

Help us take action by sharing this to your friends. Let's tell the world why Barrie needs a University campus!