Ontario Boosting Opportunities for Students to Stay Active

Ministry of Education

Promoting Student Well-being and Success for Children and Youth Across the Province

Toronto, ON – Feb 6, 2018

Ontario is investing in programs that keep children and youth physically active, to ensure that young people can reach their full potential and thrive inside and outside the classroom.

Indira Naidoo-Harris, Minister of Education was joined by more than 35 students, teachers and families at St. Cecilia Catholic School in Toronto to participate in a walking school bus — a walk-to-school initiative to get students moving ahead of Winter Walk Day.

Research shows that physical activity is key to the healthy growth and development of children and youth. It has a positive impact on their physical and mental health, and helps lay the foundation for healthy, productive lives.

Ontario is providing children and youth with more opportunities to be physically active each day, including:

Renewing grants to secondary schools to encourage more physical activity for students in Grades 9-12 during non-instructional time.
Investing in active transportation initiatives, such as walking school buses, which encourage walking, cycling or other forms of active travel to and from school.
These programs are part of Ontario’s commitment to providing access to 60 minutes of physical activity, connected to the school day, for all children and youth.

Promoting student well-being through physical activity is part of Ontario’s plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation.