Ontario Supporting Firefighters with More Than $10 million for Training and Infrastructure | Laura Smith, MPP

Investment will help train thousands of firefighters across the province

THORNHILL — The Ontario government is investing more than $10 million to build five new state-of-the-art training facilities and train thousands of firefighters for in-demand careers in fire and rescue services.

“Investments in firefighter training are investments in the safety and resilience of our communities,” said Premier Doug Ford. “This new funding will help ensure that our firefighters have the skills and resources they need to protect people and communities and return home safely to their families.”

Ontario is investing over $9 million to build five new training centres through the capital stream of the province’s Skills Development Fund (SDF). Once built, the five new training centres will have the capacity to train more than 28,000 firefighters over a five-year period, helping to meet the emergency response needs of growing communities across Ontario and allowing local firefighters to get the training they need closer to home.

In partnership with the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association (OPFFA), the province is also investing approximately $970,000 in a training project that will provide Fire Ground Survival training to firefighters across the Niagara, Toronto and Kingston regions. As well, the Town of Georgina will receive provincial support to train and upskill its volunteer firefighters.

“Our firefighters are true heroes who face danger head-on and without hesitation to protect our communities,” said David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “By investing in these projects, we’re helping to ensure our firefighters have the training they need to keep both themselves and others safe. By expanding training capacity, we’re opening doors for more people who want to become firefighters and protect our communities.”

The new training and infrastructure funding will be allocated to organizations and municipalities as follows:

• Town of Georgina: $550,436 to support the construction of a new Fire & Rescue Training Facility. 
• Town of Orangeville: $3,667,650 to support the construction of a new Fire Services Campus to replace the existing building to train members of Orangeville Fire. 
• Town of Newmarket: $865,046 to support the construction of a new fire training facility in Aurora. 
• Municipality of Clarington: $3,216,384 to support the construction of a new fire training complex to help meet the community’s emergency response needs and provides effective training for future leaders in the fire department. 
• Town of Hanover: $780,331 to support the construction of a new fire hall to support local training of the Hanover Fire and Rescue. 
• Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association Fire Ground Survival Train-the-Trainer Program: $970,150 to deliver fire ground survival training to career firefighters across the regions of Niagara, Toronto and Kingston. 
• Town of Georgina – Community Safety Skills Development for Georgina Fire & Rescue Services: $439,373 to deliver training to its volunteer firefighters in the Town of Georgina.

Ontario invests more than $1 billion each year in employment services and training programs like Better Jobs Ontario and the Skills Development Fund Training Stream to help workers train for well-paying and meaningful careers in their communities. These investments are part of the government’s ongoing efforts to attract, support and protect workers, making Ontario the best place to work, live and raise a family.

Quick Facts

• Through the Skills Development Fund, Ontario is investing nearly $1.1 billion to support training and upskilling programs for workers and connect jobseekers with employers to land well-paying careers close to home.
• Since its launch in 2021, Ontario’s Skills Development Fund Training Stream has helped connect more than half a million jobseekers with the skills and training they need to find well-paying and fulfilling careers close to home.
• The Skills Development Fund Capital Stream was launched in June 2023 to provide funding to eligible organizations to build new training centres, upgrade existing training centres or convert an existing building into a training centre. These centres will train people for emerging and in-demand jobs in critical sectors of Ontario’s economy.
• There are about 30,000 firefighters in Ontario, including about 12,000 full-time firefighters, nearly 19,000 volunteer firefighters and more than 400 part-time firefighters.
• The Skills Development Fund Training Stream is supported through labour market transfer agreements between the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.