60th Anniversary Celebration Wishes

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Visit our guestbook and join us on a journey through six decades of growth, achievement, and innovation at College of the North Atlantic.

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Building our Foundation

Like many post-secondary institutions with origins steeped in history and built on the principles and dreams of their founding fathers, College of the North Atlantic’s past is similar.

Brought to light in 1963, when then Premier Joseph R. Smallwood had committed to investing and revolutionizing the education system in Canada’s youngest province, the newly formed college system took its first steps.

After spending the previous 15 years building new secondary schools and rebuilding old ones, it was high time to have a technical and vocational post-secondary system that would further train the future workforce of this fledgling province.

It was for that reason the Newfoundland College of Trades and Technology was opened in St. John’s (now Prince Philip Drive campus) in 1963. Over the next few years 18 more District Vocational Schools were christened around the province – an investment totalling $28 million back then, which in today’s dollars is in the hundreds of millions.

“Newfoundland has been set upon the path of progress. Our people are on the march. There can be no stopping us now. We are destined to be one of Canada’s truly great provinces,” proclaimed Premier Smallwood during the opening of the College of Trades and Technology. “And what a glorious thing it is to be a young man or woman in Newfoundland and Labrador today! They may not know it, but the opportunities that have been created for them are, beyond calculation, greater than their fathers knew. May they seize these opportunities, and be worthy of them.”

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

That declaration by Premier Smallwood still holds true all these years later. As a province, Newfoundland and Labrador takes pride in the fact it has been molded through trial and error, an ever changing political landscape and a constantly evolving provincial economy – one that has been as diverse as the people who have driven it, even today.

Over the next 35 years the provincial college system was restructured to meet the needs of that changing economy, ensuring that timely and relevant technical training was available to residents throughout the province. It also underwent a number of name changes – with the Stephenville location alone going through as many as six reiterations. In 1967 the Adult Upgrading Centre opened in Stephenville; and then in 1977, the town became the site of Bay St. George Community College, an institution which encompassed the District Vocational School in Stephenville Crossing, the Heavy Equipment School and the previously added Adult Upgrading Centre. Things would remain relatively unchanged until 1987, when the fragmented system of 16 District Vocational Schools, the College of Trades and Technology and the Bay St. George Community College were brought under a more regionalized model of two institutes and five community colleges. This new system included Cabot Institute, Fisher Technical College, Avalon Community College, Eastern Community College, Central Newfoundland Community College, Labrador Community College and Western Community College.

Photo by Atlantic Guardian. Source: Library and Archives Canada/National Film Board of Canada/PA-110814.

Mild tweaking in 1991 was only meant to better capture the program offerings at two locations; Fisher Technical College became the Fisher Institute of Applied Arts and Technology, and Western Community College became Western College of Applied Arts and Technology.

It was in 1992 that the next major restructuring took place. On the heels of the collapse of the Northern Cod Fishery, the provincial college system was realigned to better meet the demands of over 35,000 fishers and plant workers from over 400 coastal communities who had lost their employment due to the moratorium – an event which marked the largest industrial closure in Canadian history.

The provincial government decided to establish a larger organization province-wide that year, introducing five Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology and Continuing Education, formed from the two institutes and five Community Colleges. These new colleges were named Cabot College, Eastern College, Central Newfoundland Community College, Westviking College and Labrador College. Each college was representative of a regional area with each having multiple campus sites, and in the case of Labrador, smaller satellite office spaces serving Coastal Labrador.

Then, on December 19, 1996, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador felt it was time for a single provincial college entity, so they revised and enacted the College Act, which would state, “There is established the College of Newfoundland and Labrador with headquarters at a place to be determined by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.” This college headquarters location would ultimately be assigned to the Bay St. George campus building in Stephenville, culminating its long-standing tradition of post-secondary training delivery in the province. Through an ensuing name search and much deliberation, the newly formed system would be known as College of the North Atlantic (CNA), beginning with the 1997 academic year.

As a relatively young institution by traditional post-secondary standards, College of the North Atlantic has made significant progress by identifying opportunities, solidifying partnerships and listening to the concerns of industry sectors and the students who are looking to expand their learning.

One sign of that progress was the signing of what is perhaps the largest educational contract in history when CNA partnered with the Middle East State of Qatar to build a college of technology there. Signed in 2001, the contract – then valued at $500 million and expected to last 10 years, would extend until 2022 and ultimately be valued at well in excess of $2 billion.

And while CNA is now considered a leader in the export of college curriculum world-wide, and continues to engage in projects in countries all over the globe, it still maintains its focus on providing the training needed to continue to benefit the people and industries in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Our History

1963

College of Trades and Technology opens in St. John’s.

District Vocational Schools (DVS) open around the province. Over the next few years DVS open in Baie Verte, Bell Island, Bonavista, Burin, Carbonear, Clarenville, Corner Brook, Gander, Grand Falls (Grand Falls-Windsor 1990), Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador City, Lewisporte, Placentia, Port aux Basques, Seal Cove, Springdale, St. Anthony, Stephenville Crossing.

1987

Two institutes and five community colleges are formed from the former District Vocational Schools, the College of Trades and Technology and the Bay St. George Community College. These institutes and colleges are Cabot Institute, Fisher Technology College, Avalon Community College, Eastern Community College, Central Newfoundland Community College, Labrador Community College, Western Community College.

1991

The Fisher Technology College is renamed the Fisher Institute of Applied Arts and Technology.

Western Community College is renamed Western College of Applied Arts and Technology (later renamed Westviking College).

1992

Five colleges of Applied Arts and Technology and Continuing Education are formed from the two institutes and five community colleges. These colleges are Cabot College, Eastern College, Central Newfoundland Community College, Westviking College, Labrador College.