Saint Lawrence College of Brockville

Prior to the 1960s, only institutes of technology and vocational centres co-existed with universities in the province of Ontario at the post-secondary level, and many of those schools were established primarily to help veterans reintegrate into society in the post-war years. In response to an increasing need for technical education, Premier William Davis, regarded now as the “father of the Ontario College System”, established Ontario's colleges of applied arts and technology to train individuals for employment in their respective communities. St. Lawrence College was founded during this period in 1967 as part of the province's initiative to create many such institutions. These schools were designed to provide career-oriented diploma and certificate courses, as well as continuing education programs in the communities in which they are located. Brockville was originally proposed as the site for the main campus of St. Lawrence College, but Kingston was ultimately selected, since its larger population base would allow it to support a full campus. For the site, a 59-acre (24 ha) piece of farmland was purchased from the Ontario Psychiatric Hospital (now operated by Providence Continuing Care Centre) located at King St. W. and Portsmouth Ave. Brockville would retain a smaller campus, while the Cornwall and Kingston campuses were designed to serve six counties in Eastern Ontario (namely Frontenac, Leeds, Grenville, Dundas, Stormont and Glengary).