These are the best public colleges in Canada.
Canadian Universities have been recognized around the with some amazing institutional records and quality in research as well. But, If you are looking to enhance the right skills for your job, Canadian Public colleges are a great option, rather than getting a degree from a university. Public colleges (or community colleges) are primarily funded by a national or state government and the public. There is a larger range of courses on offer at public colleges though they are known to have larger class sizes. However, the cost of attending such an institution is subsidized by the government.
Here, In this blog, I am listing down some of the best public colleges in major Canadian cities and other notable mentions.
Toronto
Seneca College
Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology is a multiple-campus public college in the Greater Toronto Area, and Peterborough, Ontario, Canada regions. It offers full-time and part-time programs at the baccalaureate, diploma, certificate, and graduate levels.
Seneca offers more than 145 full-time programs and 135 part-time programs including 14 Bachelor's degrees and 30 graduate certificates. Seneca College has more than 70 transfer agreements with both local and international post-secondary institutions, including universities in Australia, England, South Africa, and the U.S. These agreements allow students to apply their college education to obtain credit towards a university degree.
George Brown College
George Brown College is a public, fully accredited college of applied arts and technology with three campuses in downtown Toronto (Ontario, Canada). Like many other colleges in Ontario, GBC was chartered in 1966 by the government of Ontario and opened the next year.
In 2021, there were 27,128 full-time students — 29 percent international students — as well as 3,123 part-time students and 58,119 continuing education registrants. George Brown was named one of the Greater Toronto's Top Employers for 2022. Also, George Brown College was ranked among the top 10 research colleges in the country, ranking 8th for overall research income, and ranking 4th for both the number of paid students and the number of completed projects.
Humber College
The Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, commonly known as Humber College, is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has two main campuses: the Humber North campus and the Lakeshore campus.
Humber offers more than 150 programs including bachelor’s degrees, diplomas, certificates, post-graduate certificates, and apprenticeship programs, across 40 fields of study. Humber also provides academic advisors and resources, such as a career finder.
Beyond this, Humber College also provides Bridging (or Bridge Training) Programs for internationally trained professionals in the fields of engineering and information technology. Humber serves 25,000 full-time and 57,000 part-time learners.
Centennial College
Centennial College of Applied Arts and Technology is a diploma- and degree-granting college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest publicly funded college in Ontario. Centennial College has been recognized as a culturally diverse post-secondary institution, almost 100 ethnocultural groups are represented and 80 languages are spoken on campus.
Centennial offers more than 260 programs, including bachelor's degrees, diplomas, certificates, post-graduate certificates, and apprenticeship programs, across many fields of study.
Sheridan College
Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a public polytechnic institute of technology located in the west-Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada.
The college has more than 130 programs leading to degrees, certificates, diplomas, and post-graduate diplomas. Sheridan College has a music theatre performance program, undergraduate and post-graduate film programs, and a craft and design program. They have courses in business, animation, illustration, applied computing, engineering technology, community studies, and liberal studies, among others.
Vancouver
Vancouver Community College
Vancouver Community College is a public community college in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1965, it is the largest and oldest community college in British Columbia, offering 91 certificate programs, 31 diploma programs, and 3 bachelor's degree programs. VCC has two campuses: Broadway and Downtown.
The college accommodates 26,000 students each year from a variety of nations, about 8 percent of whom are international students.
VCC offers career programs leading to one-year certificates, two-year diplomas, and four-year bachelor's degrees in fields such as the arts, business, trades, and health sciences.
Columbia college
Columbia College is an independent not-for-profit two-year university transfer college located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The college is a registered charity and an incorporated Society composed of all Columbia College employees.
Columbia College has thousands of students enrolled from 61 countries around the world. A variety of first and second-year university-level courses are offered to students to complete a Columbia College associate degree and a University Transfer program is offered to students who successfully completed Senior High School. Courses offered in college are transferable to universities within and outside of the province. Moreover, the college provides a High School program and an English for Academic Purposes program which is accredited by Languages Canada.
Langara College
Langara College is a public degree-granting college in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which serves approximately 22,000 students annually through its university, career, and continuing studies programs
Langara College provides university-level programs and courses and offers a variety of qualifications, including baccalaureate degrees, associate degrees, diplomas, certificates, and citations. The three 4-year degree programs offered by the college are Nursing, Recreation Management, and Business Administration
Montreal
Dawson college
Dawson College is an English-language public general and vocational college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The CEGEP offers two types of programs: pre-university and career/technical. Pre-university programs take two years to complete and cover subject matter that roughly corresponds to the additional year of high school given elsewhere in Canada, as well as university-level introductory courses that prepare students for their chosen field in university. Technical programs take three years to complete and allow graduates to enter the workforce or pursue their studies at a university level.
Vanier college
Vanier College (French: Collège Vanier) is an English-language public college located in the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1970 as the second English-language public college of Quebec's public college system, after Dawson College.
Vanier College offers over twenty-five programs of study in both two-year pre-university and three-year technical fields. With a student population averaging eight thousand, Vanier College is the second-largest English-language college in Québec. The college offers two types of programs: a full-time pre-university program and technical career programs leading to a Diploma of College Studies (DCS).
NOTE : QUEBEC INSTITUTIONS HAVE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION AND GRADUATION.
Calgary
Bow Valley College
Bow Valley College is a public, board-governed college operating as a comprehensive community institution under the Post-Secondary Learning Act of Alberta.
The college offers year-round career programs that lead to certificates, diplomas, and post-diploma certificates, as well as adult upgrading and English language learning. They also offer career services and specialized services that help newcomers to Canada.
Edmonton
Norquest College
NorQuest College is a publicly funded community college in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The student body is approximately 10,900 full-time or part-time credit students, and approximately 8,500 non-credit or continuing education students. Approximately 1,600 students graduate each year.
NorQuest College offers diplomas and certificates as well as preparatory programs. Programs are offered full-time, part-time, online, and via a hybrid of online and in-person instruction. NorQuest College offers one of the largest and highly rated practical nursing programs within Canada. In addition to health, human services and business career programs, NorQuest offers adult literacy, English as a Second Language (ESL), intercultural education, Aboriginal education, academic upgrading, and learner supports for students with disabilities.
Other notable mentions.
Assiniboine community college - Brandon & Winnipeg ( Manitoba)
Georgian College - Barrie ( Ontario)
St Clair College - Windsor ( Ontario)
Cambrian College - Sudbury ( Ontario)
Camosun College - Victoria ( British Columbia )
Algonquin College - Ottawa ( Ontario )
Durham College - Durham region ( Ontario )
Fanshawe College - London ( Ontario )