Council approves partnership with Lakehead University to bring STEM Hub to downtown Barrie

Barrie, ON – Last night (Dec. 4), City Council approved a plan to partner with Lakehead University to bring a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) university hub to downtown Barrie. The current Transit Terminal located at 24 Maple Avenue will be renovated to accommodate the STEM Hub which is scheduled to open in the Fall of 2026. Barrie Transit will move to the new Barrie Allandale Transit Terminal once construction is complete in summer 2025.

The main floor of 24 Maple Avenue includes approximately 7,000 square feet of interior space. The outdoor courtyard space is approximately 15,000 square feet and provides a unique opportunity to support additional educational spaces using modular buildings that can meet the needs of Lakehead University for its first five years of start-up while it ramps up to achieve full enrolment and programming capacity. 

"A promise made over a decade ago has finally been fulfilled," said Mayor Nuttall. "The approval of a long-awaited university in Barrie marks a transformative step forward for education, innovation, and opportunity in our city. The Lakehead University STEM Hub is not just a new educational facility—it symbolizes the beginning of a brighter future for residents, providing young people the chance to stay, learn, and find gainful employment right here in Barrie while helping to shape our downtown into a thriving hub of learning and opportunity."

Currently, Lakehead University has more than 8,500 students across its main campus in Thunder Bay and its campus in the City of Orillia with an annual impact of $4.54 billion on Ontario’s GDP. The Orillia campus has more than 2,200 students participating in more than 20 undergraduate and graduate programs across six faculties of study. Overall, Lakehead employs 253 people in the area.

“Lakehead University is incredibly proud to partner with the City of Barrie to make education more accessible to people in Barrie and the surrounding region,” said Dr. Gillian Siddall, President and Vice-Chancellor of Lakehead University. “We have been Simcoe County’s university since 2006 when we established our Orillia campus, and we are honoured to continue serving this community to build a brighter future for all. Post-secondary education opens doors, changes lives, and transforms communities from the ground up. We are going to achieve amazing things together.” 

The City of Barrie has a history of identified need for a university campus. Barrie continues to be one of the fastest growing municipalities in Ontario and one of the few among the 25 urban growth centres in the Greater Golden Horseshoe without a university campus.

Having a local university presence will boost the local economy by creating a pipeline of skilled workers ready to join in-demand industries, especially in STEM fields, in addition to revitalizing Barrie’s downtown through increased demand for goods and services, dining, and entertainment. It will also create employment opportunities, not only in academia but also in administrative, support, and service sectors. The presence of a STEM Hub in Barrie with programming that supports the needs of local employers will position the city to be more attractive to businesses, investors, highly skilled jobseekers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and students.