Boréal kicks off 20th anniversary celebrations

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne was the guest of honour as Collège Boréal kicked off a year-long celebration of its 20th anniversary Friday evening.

“I'm very proud to be celebrating your inspiring achievements over the past 20 years,” said Wynne.

Thanks to live video feeds almost 1,000 guests were able to follow the celebration at Collège Boréal campuses across the province, including Alfred, Barrie, Hamilton, Hearst, Kapuskasing, London, Nipissing, Témiskaming, Timmins, Toronto, Windsor and Sudbury.

Those campuses form the largest French-language post-secondary network in Ontario.

Wynne noted Boréal's 20th anniversary falls on the same year the province celebrates the 400th year of the Francophone presence in Ontario.

“The Francophone community, in my opinion, is central to Ontario's identity, to its past and future,” she said.

Collège Boréal has the highest graduation rate of Ontario's 24 community colleges, and for the tenth time in 13 years, the college also had the most satisfied graduates in the province.

“Collège Boréal is more than a postsecondary institution. Thanks to its many initiatives often supported through community partnerships, Collège Boréal has become an important player on the French-Canadian scene,” said Collège Boréal president Pierre Riopel, in a press release. “Together, we celebrate the important role that Collège Boréal has played in the education and training of many generations of future leaders who will, in their own way, contribute to the vitality of our community.”

NDP leader Andrea Horwath, Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas, and Sudbury byelection candidates Glenn Thibeault and Suzanne Shawbonquit were also at Friday's celebration.