THUNDER BAY, ON – February 9, 2025 — Confederation College is relocating its Greenstone Campus from Longlac to Geraldton. The Geraldton campus will be co-located at Geraldton Composite High School through a partnership with the Superior-Greenstone District School Board.
The site will serve as a post-secondary access point for the region, supporting credentialed programs, apprenticeship pathways, specialized workforce training, and Academic Upgrading/Get SET programming.
The move to Geraldton will allow the College to expand the programs offered locally and improve access for learners. It will also strengthen pathways from secondary school into post-secondary education, trades training, and employment.
“As part of our ongoing planning, Confederation College carefully considered how best to serve learners across the Greenstone municipality and the broader region,” said Michelle Salo, President of Confederation College. “Relocating to Geraldton supports a more sustainable model, improves access to post-secondary education, and helps ensure our programming meets the region’s evolving workforce needs. This move strengthens our ability to support learners, employers, and communities now and into the future.”
While the College has operated programming in Longlac in recent years, many learners accessing Greenstone Campus programs were travelling from Geraldton and surrounding communities. Transportation challenges, infrastructure limitations and post-COVID enrolment shifts reduced the effectiveness of the Longlac site as a stand-alone delivery location.
With the Longlac lease expiring, the College determined that relocating to Geraldton was a more sustainable and accessible model, allowing operations to be consolidated while improving alignment with learner needs and regional labour demand. The move represents a repositioning of services, not a withdrawal from the Greenstone region.
“We are very pleased to be working alongside Confederation College as shared-space partners at Geraldton Composite High School”, said Will Goodman, Director of Education of Superior-Greenstone District School Board. “Meaningful community connections and partnerships are a key pillar of our Multi-Year Strategic Plan, and this collaboration reflects our shared commitment to expanding opportunities for learners across the region. Our local communities are rich with possibility, and by working together with strong external partners, we can strengthen pathways, broaden access to education and training, and support student success from Kindergarten through post-secondary and beyond. We look forward to the positive impact this partnership will have for students, families, and the wider community”.
Confederation College was previously located in Geraldton and will once again work alongside the school board to leverage shared public infrastructure and support seamless transitions from secondary to post-secondary education.
The Geraldton campus is expected to open this September, with additional details to be shared as planning continues.
Confederation College has served the people of Northwestern Ontario since 1967, delivering postsecondary, apprenticeship, and workforce training across a 550,000-square-kilometre region. The college’s main campus is in Thunder Bay, with seven regional sites in Dryden, Longlac, Kenora, Marathon, Fort Frances, Red Lake, and Sioux Lookout, as well as a growing Distance Education division.
Each year, Confederation College supports more than 7,000 full- and part-time learners from across the region and around the world. With more than 600 employees, the college plays a key role in regional development, contributing $707.3 million annually to the local economy. Confederation College is committed to equity, access, and community partnership, working closely with students, employers, and communities to support learning, workforce readiness, and long-term regional prosperity.
