Seneca, Centennial and Humber Colleges

Before 1965, Ontario had no province-wide network of applied, career-focused post-secondary institutions distinct from universities. Education Minister — and future premier — Bill Davis changed that with a bill amending the Department of Education Act to create Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology, meant to be stand-alone institutions rather than university feeders, open to students regardless of formal entrance qualifications. By 1967, roughly 20 colleges had opened across the province.

Three colleges, one year

Toronto got three of these new colleges in quick succession. Centennial College, named for Canada's approaching 1967 centennial, was Ontario's first CAAT to open its doors, on October 17, 1966. Humber College and Seneca College followed in 1967: Humber took its name from the Humber River, a historic transportation and industrial corridor for the region, while Seneca opened on September 6, 1967, taking its name from the Seneca, one of the Haudenosaunee nations with historical village sites along the Rouge and Humber rivers in what is now the GTA.

Growth and a recent contraction

All three have grown enormously beyond their original trades-focused mandate — Centennial now spans multiple Scarborough campuses, Humber (rebranded Humber Polytechnic in 2024) operates North and Lakeshore campuses, and Seneca (rebranded Seneca Polytechnic) has expanded into Markham, King and Peterborough. All three, along with the wider Ontario college sector, saw significant enrollment and program contractions in 2025 tied to federal international-student policy changes.

Sources

• Colleges Ontario — 60th Anniversary of Ontario's College System
• Seneca Polytechnic — Official History