Collège Boréal expanding campus in Ottawa, increasing access to programs in French

Collège Boréal officially opened its expanded campus at 233 Main St. in Ottawa Friday. (Collège Boréal/ handout)

Collège Boréal opened its expanded campus in Ottawa Friday, offering fully renovated classrooms, cutting-edge equipment and increasing access to programs in French.

President Daniel Giroux and Ottawa Campus director Daniel St-Louis announced the major expansion at 233 Main St., where an over 13,000 square feet was added to the campus, the college said in a news release.

“Collège Boréal continues to work with other institutions in the college and university sector to expand access to post-secondary education in French and provide Franco-Ontarian youth with employment opportunities that match their diverse skills,” said Giroux.

The expansion includes five fully renovated classrooms, a student success centre and an accessibility office, a student lounge, and a new administrative area. It also includes two wet labs with state-of-the-art equipment, and an animal X-ray room equipped with new units for the Veterinary Care Technician program.

Five additional programs, “unique in French-speaking Ontario,” are also being added to the college’s already available programs, Public Administration and Veterinary Care Technician. The five new programs are:

• Social Entrepreneurship

• Human Resources Management (Graduate Certificate)

• Fitness and Health Promotion

• Funeral Director Class 1 (Embalming)

• Funeral Director Class 2 (Non-Embalming)

“With its new facilities and programs, Collège Boréal in Ottawa aims to meet the expectations of employers in eastern Ontario by providing them with the skilled, French-speaking, and bilingual workforce that our region particularly needs. Whether working in the public sector, private businesses, community or social organizations, our future graduates will strengthen their industries and boost our local economy,” said St-Louis.

The expansion is a $4.5 million project. It is part of a funding announced by the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, and the Government of Canada under the Canada-Ontario Agreement on Minority-Language Education and Second Official-Language Instruction.