Severn Court (October-August)
Arthur News School of Fish
Developers, senior admin, and representatives of Curve lake stand before an excavator. Photo: Trent University

Trent Breaks Ground on Gidigaa Migizi College, Otonabee College Expansion

Written by
Ian Vansegbrook
and
and
June 20, 2025
Trent Breaks Ground on Gidigaa Migizi College, Otonabee College Expansion
Developers, senior admin, and representatives of Curve lake stand before an excavator. Photo: Trent University

Trent University held a ground breaking ceremony in Otonabee parking lot R on June 19th to celebrate the construction of the new Gidigaa Migizi College and an expansion to Otonabee College. They took group photos before attending a series of speeches at Bata Library. 

One group that was not represented in the university’s photos was the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) support workers, responsible for all support staff at Trent’s Symons and Durham GTA campuses. Louise Campbell, President of OPSEU local 365, spoke to reporters about the lack of consultation with the union. 

Her organization’s Collective Agreement states that, "the University recognizes the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) as the sole bargaining agent for all non-academic employees of Trent University in the City of Peterborough, and any of its locations in Ontario where bargaining unit work of the University is being performed.” 

The agreement also states that “when new initiatives on campus or any work location in Ontario of the University have the potential to result in ongoing employment opportunities, the Parties will review the nature of the work for possible inclusion in the bargaining unit, if such work has not already been included."

According to Campbell, the last time OPSEU met with the administration about the expansion was in September. “We have attempted to meet with the administration and their time is limited for us and their answers are vague and non-committal,” she told Arthur.

“Today marks an exciting milestone for Trent University with the development of a new building. But amid this progress, the administration must not overlook or undervalue the contributions of the unionized staff who keep the engine of the University running,” she said.

OPSEU workers attended the ground breaking, and took their own photos with the excavator after administration had left. Photo: Ian Vansegbrook

After welcoming attendees, Trent’s Vice President of Finance and Administration, Tariq Al-Idrissi, gave a speech before introducing Chief of Curve Lake First Nation Keith Knott. He began by getting the crowd to greet each other in Anishinaabemowin and smile. 

“I don't see too many smiles,” Chief Knott said. “I know it's a happy occasion. We should be smiling. And you know, this is what makes events that much more welcoming. When we speak up, when we smile. You know, it brightens things up even on a dull day.”

“As I look back 60 years, I recall when a former Chief of ours, Dalton Jacobs, and the founder of Trent University, Thomas Symons, walked from the site to Curve Lake as a fundraiser. And that was a beginning,” he explained.

“The second … beginning was when Chief Dalton Jacobs went into Dr Symons’ office and donated $2.”

“And look at how far the $2 has taken you,” he said. 

After Knott’s remarks, Doug Kirk, Chair of the Board of Governors; Dr. Kathy Bruce, Trent President and Vice-Chancellor; and Alan Perlis, CEO of Knightstone Capital Management, which Trent has been working with Trent to build Gidigaa Migizi, each gave speeches.

The new college and Otonabee residence will bring 1,300 new units to Symons campus, increasing on-campus residency by 69%. Perlis claimed that this will make Gidigaa Migizi College the biggest mixed-use building in the country. 

After the speeches, VP Al-idrissi spoke to journalists on the new college and Otonabee expansion.

Ian Vansegbrook: Will there be renderings of the new dorms in advance for students to see?

Tariq Al-idrissi: Yes, we do have inside renderings; they’re almost complete. We will be putting that out there at one point. Watch the campus project website. We’ll have some renderings of what the inside is going to look like and what the rooms are going to look like. 

Renders of the new expansion. Photo: Trent University

IV : Is this major increase in on-campus student housing reflective of a hope for an increase in tuition?

TAI: Yes, that is tied to it. We did some 3D targeted studies around space and housing needs of the University. Currently, the university leases 600 beds … across the street—those brownstones [the annexes] to meet our first year enrollment. 

We want to bring those students on campus, and we actually want to use those beds for upper years. In fact, we want to bring all our students closer to campus, alleviating the pressure on the city for rental units, especially at that price range that students actually demand. This building will add 1300 beds that will add to the numbers that the city has to meet in terms of housing.

Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay of the Peterborough Examiner: How are you working with the city to ensure that those standards are being met on an appropriate timeline?

TAI:We are working with the city. They are aware that we're working on this building, we will be three years ahead of those numbers for them, and we're already actively working on the building climate process. It's a very active relationship quite often. Diamond Schmitt, the architects on this team, are there as well, so a lot of that work is happening right now.

SJL: Do you foresee [construction] progressing along that anticipated timeline?

TAI: I think we have no issues. We're starting on time. Our timeline has always been June 30 to break ground. It's June 19. We've cornered off the parking lot next door for equipment.  We're ready to go.

IV: Are there any concerns about construction disrupting any academic services?

TAI: No. Part of this relationship is a lot of legal agreements. One of them is called the development agreement. We have lots of work arounds when we need there to be quiet times, respecting exams. We're going to do a lot of work in the summer. From an environmental perspective: noise and dust, we’re going to have a lot of control around a lot of those pieces.

SJL: I don't see anything here in regards to cost or financing and how it's going to be paid for.

TAI: This is a public-private partnership. The cost is actually borne by the developer. They own the residence portion. We as a university get to lease back our academic and admin space. 

From a cash flow perspective, the university is not putting up any upfront cash. We get to pay our lease portion of that, and we get the space immediately. That's a win-win situation for the developer and for the university. 

The university plans to have Gidigaa Migizi College up and running by September 2028.  

Severn Court (October-August)
Arthur News School of Fish
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Severn Court (October-August)
Arthur News School of Fish

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