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Behind the final weeks of the school year at Villa Maria College, families say anxiety over the school’s future is growing once again.
A petition campaign has now been revived after Notre-Dame-de-Grâce MNA Désirée McGraw says a decision on the school’s fate may be coming sooner than expected.
“The new board will be making a recommendation — or a decision, really — within the coming weeks as to whether Villa stays or leaves,” she said.
The Sisters of the Congregation of Notre-Dame, who own the land, had announced plans in 2023 to eventually sell the property once the school’s lease expires in 2030.
Since then, the uncertainty surrounding the school’s future has sparked protests, legal action and a growing concern from families.
McGraw says the uncertainty alone has deeply affected the school community.
“There’s already an impact and there will be an even greater impact on applications even next year — this coming year — because even if the decision is to move, keep it open and move, people aren’t generally signing their kids up for a school in secondary 1 not knowing where they’re going to graduate in secondary 5,” said McGraw.
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In an email to Global News, the board’s chair, Suzanne Gouin, confirmed that it hopes to table recommendations to the congregation in the coming weeks and added that it is working diligently at identifying a permanent solution for the school.
“The dialogue with the congregation is open, constructive and collaborative. We are looking at all the options and taking into consideration the school’s pedagogical project,” she added.
McGraw says she has also been in discussions with the Quebec government about the school’s future and ministers are following the situation closely.
For families now watching the clock tick toward a possible decision, the hope is that Villa Maria’s next chapter can still be written on the same campus it has called home for generations.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
