Fleming College has announced plans to voluntarily merge with St. Lawrence College, a first for colleges in Ontario.
Fleming College has campus locations in Peterborough, Lindsay, Cobourg, and Haliburton, while St. Lawrence College has campus locations in Kingston, Brockville, and Cornwall.
According to a media release issued on Friday (April 10), the two colleges will “integrate as equal partners” in an effort to improve their long-term financial sustainability.
“The colleges have been working closely with the provincial government to ensure a smooth integration with minimum impacts on students and communities,” the media release states. “There are no planned changes to local brands, programs, campuses, services, or student supports because of today’s announcement.”
The boards of both Fleming College and St. Lawrence College have already approved a framework agreement that sets out the steps to a full integration.
“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,” said Fleming College board chair Don Gillespie in the 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.”
“This is an important step toward creating a stronger future for students, employers, and communities across eastern Ontario,” said St. Lawrence College board chair Julie Caffin. “By bringing together the complementary strengths of our two institutions, we have an opportunity to build a more resilient college that can respond to changing needs while preserving our commitment to student success and community impact.”
Ontario’s 24 colleges have been facing deficits over the past two years, largely due to the federal cap on international students implemented in 2024 as well as a ongoing provincial tuition freeze, resulting in the elimination of programs and the closure of campus locations. Fleming College has eliminated a total of 29 programs, and St. Lawrence College has eliminated more than 50, resulting in staff layoffs.
Although the provincial government announced a $6.4 billion investment in February for Ontario colleges and universities over four years, recent audits and third-party reports commissioned by the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities in 2024 and 2025 under the $15-million Efficiency and Accountability Fund” (EAF) review have recommended widespread restructuring, including the potential merger or consolidation of colleges to address financial instability.
Fleming College and St. Lawrence College are the first two colleges in Ontario to announce such a merger.
The merged college will have a single management team, led by St. Lawrence College president and CEO Glenn Vollebregt as the initial president and CEO and Fleming College interim president Theresa Knott as the initial associate president and chief academic officer.
“We are committed to ensuring that students have the tools, programs, and support they need to succeed in a rapidly evolving economy,” Vollebregt said. “This integration gives us the scale and capability to serve more students, offer more opportunity, and build a stronger institution for the long term.”
“This integration represents a forward-looking investment in our students and communities,” Knott added. “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.”
The media release states that the merger will create greater scale and capability, better align programs and capacity with regional labour market needs, and eventually provide students with expanded academic pathways, increased access to specialized programs, enhanced research opportunities, and broader work-integrated learning experiences.
Now that the merger has been publicly announced, the colleges say the next phase of the implementation will include detailed due diligence, operational planning, and community engagement.
“These steps will be undertaken under board oversight and in line with provincial requirements, with further updates to be shared as more information becomes available,” the release states. “Both colleges are committed to a structured engagement process that will give key partners meaningful opportunities to provide input on implementation.”
More information about the merger is available at flemingcollege.ca/integration and stlawrencecollege.ca/integration.
