Mr. Speaker, this September Algoma University in St. Thomas, Ontario, welcomed its inaugural class. As the city's first university, Algoma offers a wealth of opportunity for residents of St. Thomas and the surrounding area.
Fittingly, the university has taken up residence in the old Wellington Street Public School, a heritage building where students have studied for over a century. Currently students have the opportunity to complete up to two years of an undergraduate degree. Courses are offered one at a time in three-week blocks allowing students to fully immerse themselves in course material.
Six years of planning went into this project and would not have been possible without the president of Algoma University, Dr. Richard Myers, the City of St. Thomas and Andrew Gunn, the executor of the Dorothy Palmer estate.
I would like to offer Algoma University a very warm welcome to St. Thomas. I look forward to watching it grow with our community.