The 5 Best Schools Near CityPlace & Fort York, Toronto (2026): What Condo Buyers Should Know

By Jatin Dua · Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty · Updated 2 October 2026 · 11 min read — the two schools at Canoe Landing, the waterfront and Niagara Street options, an alternative high school by the lake, and how to confirm the school for a CityPlace or Fort York address.

How I chose these five schools

For a CityPlace family, the school question now starts next door: the Canoe Landing Community Recreation Centre at 45 Fort York Boulevard, which Doors Open Ontario lists as built in 2020, shares its building with a public school, a Catholic school and a child care centre. That changes how families buy here, and it is why the first two picks below are in the same building.

I then added the TDSB school that serves the lake side of Fort York and Bathurst Quay, the junior school in the older Fort York streets north of the rail corridor, and one specialty choice for teenagers. Together they cover JK to Grade 12.

Check the school for your unit. The TDSB designates schools by residential address, and its Find Your School tool gives the school for a street address; the TCDSB has its own locator. Run the exact building through both before you sign. I do not publish attendance boundaries, because they change.

How I judged them. I have not used third-party league tables. Ontario’s own measure is EQAO results, published school by school in the province’s Find a school tool. Grades, addresses and programmes below come from the boards’ own pages. The order is my judgement of proximity and programmes, not an official ranking.

1. Jean Lumb Public School

What it offers

Jean Lumb Public School is the TDSB school at Canoe Landing, at 20 Brunel Court, Unit 2, running from JK to Grade 8. The TDSB says that “when we are at full capacity, we will serve 550 students.” Its profile lists 16 classrooms, four kindergarten classrooms, arts, science and music rooms and a gymnasium shared with the community centre. The building has a green roof and solar panels.

Which streets it covers

The school publishes an undated attendance-area street list. It includes, among others, parts of Fort York Boulevard, Bremner Boulevard, Dan Leckie Way, Queens Wharf Road and Front Street West, and all of Navy Wharf Court, Housey Street, Mariner Terrace, Rees Street, Station Street and Telegram Mews. Some streets are split by house number, which is exactly why I tell buyers to run the specific address through the TDSB locator rather than rely on a street name.

What it means for buyers and renters

A JK to 8 school inside the neighbourhood, attached to a community centre and child care, is a major change for families in CityPlace. It makes the larger two-bedroom and three-bedroom units here more practical for a family that wants to stay through the elementary years.

2. Bishop Macdonell Catholic School

What it offers

Bishop Macdonell Catholic School is the TCDSB school in the same Canoe Landing complex, at 20 Brunel Court. The school describes itself as “part of the larger Canoe Landing Community Recreation Centre” and lists a STEAM programme, a kindergarten programme and child care.

What it means for buyers and renters

Having a public and a Catholic elementary school under one roof is a real convenience. For a mixed family, or one still deciding between boards, that is a real convenience: the same walk to school, the same community centre, and the same child care centre.

Practical notes

The TCDSB’s pages for this school do not state its grade range, so ask the school (416-393-5462) and confirm eligibility with the TCDSB admissions office. The TCDSB locator will tell you whether your address falls to Bishop Macdonell.

3. The Waterfront School

What it offers

The Waterfront School is a TDSB school at 635 Queens Quay West, running from JK to Grade 8. The TDSB describes the community it serves as “bounded by York Street on the east, Stadium Road on the west between Lakeshore Blvd and Queens Quay West.” Its profile says the school opened in September 1997 in an award-winning, fully accessible building “at the foot of Bathurst Street,” shared with City School, the Harbourfront Community Centre and St. Stephen’s Childcare Centre.

The school offers visual arts, dance, drama and music in all grades.

What it means for buyers and renters

For buyers at the south end of Fort York, around Bathurst Quay and the lake, this is the school to check. A JK to 8 school with a community centre and child care in the same building is again the practical draw.

Practical notes

The office number is 416-393-8500. The boundary description above is the school’s own summary; the locator is still the final word for a specific building.

4. Niagara Street Junior Public School

What it offers

North of the rail corridor, in the older Fort York streets around Niagara and Wellington, the TDSB junior school is Niagara Street Junior Public School at 222 Niagara Street, for JK to Grade 6. The TDSB profile describes “a small but lively school” with a specialist physical education teacher, drama, dance, band, strings and visual arts, and special education support. The Garrison Creek Community Daycare is on site for ages 2.5 to 11. The building dates from 1874.

What it means for buyers and renters

A new tower on Fort York Boulevard and a loft north of Front Street may fall to different schools, so run both addresses through the locator. Niagara Street stops at Grade 6.

5. City School (alternative secondary)

What it offers

City School is a TDSB alternative high school for Grades 9 to 12, which the TDSB lists at 585 Queens Quay West and which shares a building with The Waterfront School. It describes itself as a school for “creative, self-motivated students who value community and collaborative learning,” with a semestered academic programme and a small student population.

How admission works

Entry is not by address. Grade 9 students start in September; Grades 10 to 12 can start in September or February; and “an interview is required.” The school holds open houses in November, January and June.

Other secondary options

I could not confirm from a board source which regular TDSB secondary school is designated for CityPlace, so check the locator. Two nearby options take applications from anywhere in the city: Central Technical School and Central Toronto Academy are among the five TDSB Secondary Schools Without a Boundary, filled by random selection. For September 2027 the window is 4 to 22 January 2027.

The five schools side by side

Sources: the TDSB and TCDSB school pages linked below, as listed in October 2026.

One more planning point. When local schools are full, the TDSB can redirect students from a new residential development to a school outside the immediate area “until space becomes available at local schools.” The board publishes a map of redirected addresses. If you are buying a new or pre-construction unit, check it, and ask the school office directly.

What this means if you are buying or selling here

TRREB counts CityPlace and Fort York inside district C01, the downtown core. These figures are district-wide, not for any one building: in August 2026 C01 recorded 204 condo apartment sales at a median of $585,000 and an average of $695,533, with units selling at 96 percent of list price after an average of 41 days. There were 1,102 active listings against 542 new listings, which by my arithmetic is about 5.4 months of supply and a sales-to-new-listings ratio of about 38 percent.

In a market with that much choice, the units that stand out to families are the ones with a real second bedroom, storage, and a short walk to Canoe Landing or the waterfront. When I market a family-sized unit here, I name the schools only after checking the locators for that address.

If you are renting first, see the top five condos to rent in CityPlace and in Fort York and Bathurst Quay. For outdoor space, read the best parks in CityPlace and Fort York. Comparing areas? See the best schools near Harbourfront and Queens Quay and near King West and Liberty Village. Owners should read what condos are worth in downtown Toronto and, if the unit is tenanted, how much less a tenanted condo is worth.

Two tools help here: the AI condo value estimator below gives you a range in about a minute, and the net proceeds calculator turns any price into what actually lands in your account.

If school access is driving your next move, book a call or phone 833-330-1925.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• TDSB — Find your school by home address — designated school for a residential address
• TCDSB — Elementary school locator — Catholic school for an address
• Government of Ontario — Find an elementary or secondary school — grades, EQAO results and demographics for each public school
• TDSB — Jean Lumb Public School profile — JK to 8, 550 students at full capacity
• Jean Lumb Public School — Attendance area street list — undated street list
• TCDSB — Bishop Macdonell Catholic School — STEAM, kindergarten, child care
• Doors Open Ontario — Canoe Landing Community Recreation Centre — 45 Fort York Blvd, built 2020
• TDSB — The Waterfront School — JK to 8, area served
• TDSB — The Waterfront School profile — shared building, opened 1997
• TDSB — Niagara Street Junior Public School profile — JK to 6, on-site daycare
• TDSB — City School — alternative secondary, interview required
• TDSB — Secondary Schools Without a Boundary FAQ — five schools, random selection, 4 to 22 January 2027

Related reading

• The 5 best parks in CityPlace and Fort York
• Top 5 condos to rent in CityPlace
• Top 5 condos to rent in Fort York and Bathurst Quay
• Parade Condos, CityPlace: building guide
• Library District Condos, Fort York: building guide
• How much is my condo worth in downtown Toronto?
• The 5 best schools near Harbourfront and Queens Quay