Manitoba helps buy land for new east Winnipeg school

The new school will be built on a 7.7-acre property at the northwest corner of Transcona Boulevard and Peguis Street.

The Manitoba government is helping to buy the land for a new school in a growing community in east Winnipeg.

On Monday, the province announced it is supporting the River East Transcona School Division in the purchase of the land for the school in the Devonshire Park neighbourhood.

Consumer Protection and Government Services Minister James Teitsma, who’s lived in the community for almost two decades, said the school is needed as the neighbourhood has been continuously growing and nearby schools are filling up.

“I can tell you first hand that I’ve seen this community grow. There are literally thousands of homes that have been developed here,” he said at a news conference.

“The people in this community right now are sending their children via school bus to either Joseph Teres School or Bernie Wolfe School for their K to 8 needs, and both of those schools are filling up rapidly.”

The Devonshire Park school will be a kindergarten to Grade 8 school. It is set to be built on a 7.7-acre property at the northwest corner of Transcona Boulevard and Peguis Street. It will have capacity for 700 students in addition to a child-care facility with 74 spaces.

The province announced this new school earlier this year as part of the Manitoba School Project’s nine school bundle. It is one of three new schools planned by province, on top of its 2019 pledge to build 20 schools in 10 years.

“Speaking to the people who live around this neighbourhood, they are incredibly excited about the opportunity that’s going to come when a new school, a large school is built right here on this very large 7.7-acre property,” Teitsma said.

“I think it can only be considered a good thing, a positive thing for our community.”

The school in Devonshire Park is expected to be open by September 2027.