A local politician recently made a big leap into a high profile position with the provincial government.
Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop said it’s “absolutely thrilling” to be appointed the province’s new minister of education, a position she was given on Friday following the surprise resignation of Todd Smith after just a few months on the job.
Dunlop said she received a call from Premier Doug Ford late last week, hinting at a big opportunity for her.
“He wanted to talk to me, and he said, ‘Don't worry, it's all good,’ and he also said, ‘Tighten your seat belt. It's going to be a heck of a ride,’” Dunlop told OrilliaMatters. “It’s absolutely amazing for me. I'm very excited to work with educators, trustees, students and parents.”
Originally elected in 2018, Dunlop has held a variety of posts over the past few years, including serving as the minister of colleges and universities — an experience she hopes will translate well into her new role.
“There's a lot to learn, but we're gonna look at continuing to create those pathways for young people from kindergarten to Grade 12 into post-secondary,” she said. “It's great to still be in the the realm of education, and to take the experience I had at (the ministry of colleges and universities), and now put that into education.”
With the 2024-25 school year just a few weeks on the horizon, Dunlop has plans to work on the province’s new back-to-basics kindergarten curriculum, which rolls out in September 2025 and focuses on literacy and math skills for the province’s youngest students.
“This is a huge opportunity … to ensure that students benefit from our back-to-basics approach and to focus on reading, writing and math, and that's what we're hearing from from parents and from educators,” she said.
“I see this as a huge opportunity, and really looking forward to this new challenge ahead of me.”
Since being appointed on Friday, Dunlop said she has spoken with the presidents of the Elementary School Teachers Federation of Ontario and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, and she is currently in Ottawa for the AMO annual conference meeting with municipal leaders from around the province.
With teacher shortages in Ontario schools making headlines earlier this year, Dunlop said it’s an issue she’s well aware of heading into her new role through her discussions with education leaders and former ministers.
“For me, stability is key for parents and for students, and also looking forward to the childcare piece as well,” she said. “I've been meeting with municipal leaders all day, and there's a lot of opportunities for new schools and expanded childcare centres as well.”
Dunlop was the first woman elected to the provincial legislature in Simcoe North, when she was first elected in June of 2018.
“The importance of that feat is not lost on me. I want my daughters to see more women in politics,” she told OrilliaMatters after her election win.
Her father, Garfield Dunlop, was Simcoe North MPP from 1999 to 2015.
