Otterburne’s Providence University College will soon be expanding its facilities, providing additional space to accommodate new classrooms and campus housing options for international students.
The new Winnipeg campus, located at 447 Webb Place, is the former home of Booth University College as Booth moves its facility just around the corner to 290 Vaughan Street.
The $9.5-million purchase from Booth UC’s parent organization, The Salvation Army, will enable Providence to establish a footprint in Winnipeg’s core for students enrolled in business and management programming.
“We are excited to see Providence return to the city of Winnipeg, where it all started 98 years ago,” says Providence’s president, Dr. Kenton Anderson. “Our new 87,000-square-foot downtown campus will serve as a tremendous complement to our longstanding homebase in Otterburne. As a rural/urban entity, Providence is now positioned to serve all of Manitoba, and the world, with our various innovative programs.”
In many ways, the newly acquired Winnipeg campus will be like going back to its roots for this private Christian institution.
Providence’s history dates back to 1925 when it first became known as the Winnipeg Bible Training School. It was located on Spence Street, just blocks from today’s new campus, and had an initial student body of 26.
In 1948, after receiving provincial accreditation, the name was changed to Winnipeg Bible Institute and College of Theology.
By 1970, the college needed to find new space as their Winnipeg campus was slated for destruction. They found that home in rural Manitoba at the former St. Joseph’s College in Otterburne.
Even so, the school continued to operate under the name Winnipeg Bible College until 1991, when it made its debut as Providence College and Theological Seminary.
In May 2022, the college opened its Providence Downtown branch by procuring rented space in a CDI College building downtown. Here, the Association of Arts (in business) program was established, which has a current enrolment of 400 students.
International students attending these classes need to find housing options in apartment rentals downtown. The acquisition of the new campus at Webb Place will bring these 400 students back under Providence’s roof and give international students the opportunity for affordable, communal housing.
The top floors of the facility will be dedicated to dormitories. Renovations to the building will create space for student lounges, a cafeteria, and a chapel.
By the fall of 2024, Providence anticipates that opening the new space will allow them to increase their enrolment to 700 students.
“Acquiring the Webb Place property will allow us to meet the needs of our growing student body as we continue to deliver quality education while serving a new community in the heart of Winnipeg’s downtown,” says Providence dean Catherine Rust-Akinbolaji.
International Providence student Simran Sahota says that studying in a foreign location brings a certain kind of hardship that isn’t always easy to overcome.
“While studying in Toronto, I became so depressed that I was doubting my decision to come to Canada,” says Sahota. “Providence taught me the value of community as they encouraged us that doing things together can make a difference.”
The long-time mantra of Providence University College has been to care for the entire person, not just the educational needs of their many international students, and this expansion will help them do just that.
