Two Ontario colleges to merge while maintaining ‘local brands’

Fleming College in Peterborough is shown in this handout photo.

Peterborough’s Fleming College has announced plans to merge with another college in eastern Ontario, a move that it says will provide students with “expanded academic pathways” and “increased access to specialized programs.”

Fleming College and St. Lawrence College announced on Friday that they have begun a formal process to “integrate as equal partners.”

The colleges say that they will maintain their “local brands” but will now have a single management team led by President and CEO Glenn Vollebregt.

“As governors, our responsibility is to help ensure our institutions remain strong, relevant and sustainable for the students and each of the communities we serve,” Fleming College Board Chair Don Gillespie said in a news release. “This integration process reflects a thoughtful, long-term approach to building greater capacity, expanding opportunities, and protecting the strength of college education across our region.”

The colleges say that while their boards have both approved a “integration framework agreement,” the formal merging of the institutions will not proceed until a “structured engagement process,” which will include “detailed due diligence, operational planning, and community engagement.”

Discussions to merge the colleges come amid a challenging fiscal environment for Ontario’s college sector due to a cap on international students implemented in 2024.

The union representing 55,000 college faculty and support staff across Ontario has previously warned of widespread job losses as a result, calling it “one of the largest mass layoffs in Ontario’s history.”

Several GTA schools have already announced layoffs, most recently Etobicoke’s Humber College.

“This integration represents a forward-looking investment in our students and communities,” Interim President of Fleming College Theresa Knott said in the news release. “By bringing our strengths together, we are positioning ourselves to deliver more opportunities, more innovation, greater access, and a stronger foundation for the future across our combined regions and campuses.”

Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities Nolan Quinn was asked about the potential merger during an unrelated news conference on Friday and said that he is supportive “anytime our institutions put student services first and the student experience first.”

He added that the merger is about “ensuring that both institutions will be there serving their communities for decades to come.”

St. Lawrence College has campuses in Kingston, Brockville and Cornwall, while Fleming College operates campuses in Peterborough, Lindsay, Haliburton and Cobourg.