Centennial College’s story begins with an empty radar instrument factory in the east end of Toronto. A team of local volunteers would locate this factory in 1965, and go on to persuade the Government of Ontario to lease it for a temporary campus. That year, Ontario Education Minister William Davis had proposed a network of public colleges, in order to help Ontario become more competitive in a world of advancing technology, and because of that, that factory would become Centennial College, leading the way as the first school in the initiative.
In May 1966, the inaugural documents were signed, and this school first became a reality, named Centennial College for Canada’s then-upcoming 100th birthday. The factory had been transformed into a campus in only four months, but even then, when the doors opened for students on October 17th, jackhammers and drills could still be heard, as the work continued.
From the beginning, Centennial College’s mission was to help students thrive through practical experience. To that end, the school’s instructors were recruited from industry, and other schools, to teach applied courses in business, technology, public relations, journalism, welfare services and early childhood education, all of which were important to Ontario’s emerging service-based economy. For students who previously could only choose between university study and manual labor, Centennial College provided them a place to belong, where they could forge a new path to promising careers.