Centennial College Is Closing Its Story Arts Centre Campus in 2026
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 19, 2026 • Canadian Universities & Colleges, Canada Higher Ed News & Policy
Centennial College is closing its Story Arts Centre campus in East York and moving those programs into Progress Campus in Scarborough, with the shift happening over summer 2026 so students start the Fall 2026 term at the new site.
🏠 Programs move to Progress Campus, 941 Progress Ave, Scarborough, over summer 2026.
📩 Cause: stagnant provincial funding plus a federal international student permit cap. Centennial expects enrolment to fall 43% overall and 53% at Story Arts Centre versus 2022-23.
🎓 Centennial suspended 49 programs college-wide, a 28% cut from its previous 177, and 14 of those were based at Story Arts Centre.
⏱️ Some Story Arts Centre programs keep running there through the summer 2026 term before the move.
Advising, library, residence, tutoring, counselling and accessibility services all shift to Progress Campus too.
What is closing and when
Centennial College announced in March 2025 that it will close its Story Arts Centre campus in East York, Toronto, and move its programs into Progress Campus in Scarborough at 941 Progress Ave. The relocation happens over summer 2026, so students, faculty and staff start the Fall 2026 semester at Progress instead of Story Arts Centre. Some programs keep running at Story Arts Centre through the summer 2026 term before the switch, according to Centennial's relocation page .
Story Arts Centre has housed the School of Media and Creative Arts since 1994, including broadcasting, journalism, and game and art design programs. Centennial has not announced a final decision on what happens to the Story Arts Centre building once programs leave. The college set up a dedicated inbox for feedback from students, faculty and staff on the move as it works out the details of the transition.
Why Centennial is consolidating two campuses
Centennial points to stagnant government funding combined with a drop in international student enrolment tied to the federal study permit cap. The college expects overall enrolment to fall 43% and Story Arts Centre enrolment to fall 53%, compared with the 2022-23 academic year, according to CBC News . College president Craig Stephenson said staff reductions were inevitable given the scale of the enrolment drop. Centennial suspended 49 programs earlier in 2024 as international enrolment fell short of its targets, then announced further program and staff cuts later that year as the shortfall continued, according to CBC News .
The closure sits inside a wider wave of cuts across Ontario's 24 public colleges. Centennial itself suspended 49 programs, a 28% reduction from its previous roster of 177, and 14 of those suspended programs were based at Story Arts Centre. Across the province, OPSEU, the union representing college faculty and support staff, tracks over 600 suspended or cancelled programs and links them to close to 10,000 job losses since the federal cap took effect.
What happens if you are enrolled at Story Arts Centre now
Check whether your program finishes before the summer 2026 move. Centennial says some students graduate before the relocation and are not affected day to day. Everyone else moves with their program to Progress Campus, where the college says a full range of student services, including academic advising, library resources, residence, tutoring, counselling and accessibility services, will be available. Progress Campus sits at 941 Progress Ave and is reachable by TTC bus and subway routes and by car from Highway 401, according to Centennial.
Direct questions about your specific program to [email protected]. If you plan to apply to a program currently listed at Story Arts Centre, confirm with the college directly whether it is affected by the 2026 move or by the 2024 and 2025 suspension rounds before you submit an application.