OLRNC: Education Matters Summit – The Rebuild Starts Now

Canadore College, Parry Sound Campus 1 College Drive, Parry Sound, ON P2A 0A9ad

Saturday, July 25, 2026

1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Free

Education Matters Summit …the Rebuild Starts Now!

Saturday, July 25, 2026 from 1 to 4 PM
Canadore College, Parry Sound Campus
1 College Drive, Parry Sound, ON P2A 0A9

FREE EVENT – Spaces are limited. Register today!

Ontario’s K-12 and post-secondary education systems are under assault by the Ford government.

From overcrowded classrooms and growing teacher, education worker, and staff layoffs and shortages to chronically underfunded colleges, universities, and schools, and school and campus closures, the Ford government has spent eight long years weakening the very educational institutions that shape our children’s futures and our province’s prosperity.

Public dollars are being diverted away from public education. Democratically elected school boards are being sidelined, and Ford’s friends are being sent in to take over to hide the government’s own messes. Student and parent voices are being silenced. And educators are being asked to do more with less while worrying whether they will have a job next semester.

Across Ontario, families are watching opportunities disappear while private, for-profit schools continue to expand.

Nowhere are these challenges felt more acutely than in Rural and Northern Ontario, where communities are fighting to preserve local schools, support students, and ensure every child has access to the quality education they deserve.

We cannot afford to stand by while education in Ontario is dismantled.

Join us for the Education Matters Summit …the Rebuild Starts Now! This is an important gathering of students, parents, educators, education workers, community leaders, and concerned citizens committed to restoring excellence in Ontario’s K-12 and post-secondary education systems.

Featuring Keynote Speaker Gerard Kennedy

As Ontario’s Minister of Education from 2003 to 2006, Gerard Kennedy helped lead the successful rebuilding of Ontario’s education system following the cuts and chaos of the Harris years. He will share lessons from that experience and discuss what it will take to rebuild once again.

… And an amazing panel of frontline educators and advocates

Cathy Abraham

Current Trustee for the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and Past-President of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association

Michael Bellmore

Current Chair and Trustee of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board and President of the Ontario Catholic Schools Trustees Association

David Farrow

Former Elementary Principal and Current Chair and Trustee of the Rainbow District School Board

Mark Kissel

Secondary Teacher with the Toronto District School Board and Executive Officer of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF)

Jill Promoli

Current Trustee of the Peel District School Board and Public Health Advocate – For Jude, For Everyone

Together, we will:

  • Identify the challenges facing students, educators, and institutions across Ontario.
  • Explore practical solutions to strengthen K-12 and post-secondary education.
  • Amplify the voices of students, parents, and education workers.
  • Hold the Ford government accountable for the state of our schools and campuses.
  • Build a movement that engages communities in supporting the success and well-being of our children and youth.
  • Develop an action plan for the critical back-to-school season ahead.

Without a strong education system we can’t build a fair society and a strong economy

Excellent public education is the foundation of a fair society, a strong economy, and thriving communities. The decisions we take today will help shape Ontario for generations.

Whether you’re a student, parent, teacher, education worker, school trustee, college or university employee, or simply someone who believes education matters, your voice belongs at this summit.

Bring your concerns. Bring your ideas. Bring your determination to help rebuild Ontario’s education systems.

The challenges are urgent. The stakes are high. And the rebuild starts now.

Join us. Speak up. Get involved. Together, we can protect and strengthen public education for the next generation.

This event is being co-hosted by the Ontario Liberal Party and the Ontario Liberal Rural and Northern Commission