‘I chose this program because they have a whole vet clinic here. They haven’t told us anything,’ says student; college says closure will save Georgian $23.5M over five years
Students, staff and faculty at Orillia’s Georgian College campus are in a state of shock after the announcement Friday of the closure of the Orillia and Muskoka campuses to take effect next summer.
Olga Brezhneva, a first-year vet tech student at the Orillia campus, came out of the building Friday after completing a test to news the campus is closing.
“I’m very, very shocked. What happens to the students? Will we have to apply somewhere else? Where do we go from here?” asked Brezhneva.
“I chose this program because they have a whole vet clinic here. They haven’t told us anything. We don’t know anything.”
Her friend, Madison Grace, also a first-year vet tech student, lives in Huntsville and said she chose this college, campus and program because it’s “drivable” from home.
“I chose this program because it’s the closest to home. I can’t really afford to move,” said Grace, one of about 1,300 full-time students enrolled at the Orillia campus.
Claire Martin, a first-year student of psychology counselling, walked out of the Memorial Avenue campus building Friday to the news and said she had heard nothing about the closure.
“I checked my student emails and there’s been nothing. I check Blackboard, which is our student portal, and there’s nothing,” she said.
Angela Foster, president of the local Ontario Public Service Employees Union representing support staff at Georgian College, said the news is “devastating.”
She and her fellow union members have been on strike since Sept. 11, and were walking the picket line in disbelief, with many breaking down into tears when coming across colleagues and learning of the closure.
At 8 a.m. Friday, Foster was invited to a virtual meeting with Georgian College president and CEO Kevin Weaver. That’s when she was told the Orillia and Muskoka campuses would be closing as of August 2026. All of the programs are moving to the Barrie campus as of September 2026.
Meanwhile, there was an in-person meeting held inside the building, but no support staff were invited or allowed in, Foster said.
“I’m so disappointed in this news and the way that it was not delivered to the folks out here on the picket line. They were not invited to the meeting and nobody from the college has come out to talk to them, despite me asking numerous times. Our president, Kevin Weaver, left without talking to the folks,” she said.
“It’s really disappointing. It’s been done really disrespectfully for all of these folks out here literally fighting for their jobs and for the leadership in the building to not have the respect to come out and talk to people and deliver the campus closure notice in person.
“Instead, they sent out an invitation through Teams (online software) this morning around 8 a.m., when people are already out here on the line or on their way to work and not checking their Georgian email. So, we are all finding out out here on the line. We are hearing it second-hand.”
Orillia campus dean Mary Louise Noce stood outside the main building doors after the meeting Friday morning but wouldn’t talk to a reporter, referring her to college communications staff.
Faculty member Chiara Johnson joined the picket line once she heard the news about the closure. Johnson is the co-ordinator of the early childhood education (ECE) program and has been teaching at the Orillia campus for 25 years.
“We have a strong presence here. We have an outdoor classroom, we have an ECE lab, great partners in the community. It’s devastating that we are closing the campus,” she said.
“I understand it from a business perspective, but from a human perspective and the quality of our program, it’s really heartbreaking,” she added, trying not to cry.
Johnson is a graduate of the ECE program from Georgian College. Many people from Simcoe County have been educated ECEs at the Orillia campus, she said with pride.
“It’s not just a hit for our students that are here; it’s also for the people who have been a part of this campus. It’s been the heart of what we’ve done for years,” she said.
Georgian College closed the Collingwood campus before the start of this academic year. It was announced in May that no classes would be held in September.
That came after Weaver had reported declining enrolment, particularly a decline in international students, was putting the college deep into debt.
In February, the college announced it would lay off 45 staff across its campuses. It also said there had been 31 voluntary retirements and 10 vacancy closures.
In frequently asked questions issued by Weaver as part of a memo to staff after Friday’s announcement, Weaver provided more clarity about the reason for the decision.
“More than 50 per cent of Orillia campus students live in Barrie or closer to Barrie than Orillia, and Orillia domestic enrolment remains below pre-pandemic levels,” he wrote.
“In an environment where we must demonstrate efficiency and financial prudence while continuing to provide access to post-secondary options within reasonable regional proximity, it’s difficult to justify sustaining the operating costs of campuses with limited or diminished enrolment.”
He said maintaining the Orillia and Muskoka campuses would “become increasingly difficult.”
“Despite the deep connections we have to these communities, both campuses carry significantly higher per-student operating costs compared to the college’s overall averages,” Weaver said.
“After thorough evaluation, it became clear that continuing to operate these sites in their current form would place additional strain on our resources.”
The move will help the college financially, Weaver added.
“The consolidation is expected to save the college approximately $23.5 million over the next five years,” he said.
The college said it plans to sell the buildings and residences in Orillia.
“The sale of these assets will also provide a cash injection that will protect our cash flow and ensure we’re able to make payroll and continue to serve our students well in the years ahead. While it doesn’t solve all our financial challenges, it places us on a stronger path toward long-term sustainability.”
Orillia Mayor Don McIsaac said he is “deeply saddened by the decision to close the Orillia campus.”
The closure, he said, “marks a significant change for the City of Orillia and we recognize and understand the challenging circumstances” that led the college to make the decision.
“Orillia is known as a strong post-secondary education hub north of the Greater Toronto Area, and the Georgian College Orillia campus has been a foundation of education in this city since the late 1960s,” McIsaac told OrilliaMatters.
“The campus has served as a key economic driver for the city, and a place where students could live, study and flourish in a small and welcoming community.”
He said the municipality “remains committed to fostering higher education within our community and will collaborate with the college where possible to support those affected during this time of transition.”
Bracebridge Mayor Rick Maloney echoed those sentiments in a release issued earlier today.
“This is deeply upsetting news for both our local students and the community,” he said of the closure of the Muskoka campus.
— With files from Dave Dawson