Centennial College to relocate programs at Story Arts Centre to Progress Campus in Scarborough

Centennial College has announced they will be relocating programs from one of their five Toronto campuses to another amid a decline in international enrolments and “stagnant government funding.”

Progress Campus in Scarborough will be absorbing the programs that are currently offered at the Story Arts Centre Campus in East York.

The College says they are currently in the planning stages of the move and steps will be taken to ensure impacted students, faculty, and staff “are equipped with the necessary resources and support to navigate this transition with minimal disruption.”

The move is expected to happen in Summer of 2026.

“This decision, while deeply upsetting and unsettling, is a critical step if we are to safeguard Centennial’s long-term sustainability,” read the college’s statement. “It’s a step that will ensure the impact and spirit of the Story Arts Centre as a creative powerhouse continues at Progress Campus.”

The college announced earlier this year that 49 full-time programs will not accept new students in the 2025-26 academic year, including 16 programs in its business school, 14 programs in its media school and seven programs in its engineering school. 

College president and CEO Craig Stephenson said at the time, the institution is adapting to changes in the federal government’s immigration policy that led to a big drop in international student enrolments, which significantly impacted the school’s financial standing.

The college anticipates new international enrolments will decline by 43 per cent in the current academic year, resulting in a loss of nearly 5,000 international students compared to the 2023-24 academic year.  

Colleges and universities across the country are facing program and staffing cuts after Ottawa’s decision early last year to slash the number of international student permits, with Ontario seeing its allotment cut in half.

The federal government announced last September that it would further reduce the cap for this year to 437,000 permits, down from the 2024 target of 485,000. Ottawa’s plan means some 300,000 fewer international study permits will be issued over the next few years.

Multiple Ontario colleges have announced program cuts in recent months include Algonquin College, Sheridan College and Seneca Polytechnique.

Many Ontario colleges and universities said they were running deficits and the province’s top-up is about half of what they needed.