Seneca College ‘regretfully’ ending mandatory vaccine policy in 2023, president says

By Lucas Casaletto

Seneca College is dropping its COVID-19 vaccine mandate in 2023, with the school’s president citing levels of government making it clear that vaccinations are a personal choice.

Seneca, a college with several campuses across the GTA, had adopted one of the strictest COVID-19 policies of all Ontario post-secondary institutions. President David Agnew announced in July 2021 that Seneca College had mandated COVID-19 vaccines for students and staff ahead of that school year, becoming the first Canadian post-secondary institution to enforce such a measure.

Agnew confirmed on Monday that as of Jan. 1, 2023, students, employees, contractors and visitors will no longer need to be vaccinated to enter campuses or buildings.

“Regretfully, but necessarily, I am announcing today that Seneca’s vaccination policy will end on Dec. 31, 2022,” Agnew said in a statement.

“I am proud that Seneca was a leader across Canada with our comprehensive vaccine policy. I am proud that we have put the health and safety of the Seneca community first throughout the pandemic…We were able to set an example for the country because, eventually, we were supported by federal and provincial policies that made vaccinations mandatory in certain circumstances.”


RELATED: What are Ontario post-secondary schools’ COVID-19 policies ahead of fall semester


With pandemic restrictions lifting across the province and much of the country, Agnew says it became challenging for school staff to adequately verify the vaccination statuses of students, staff and visitors at Seneca College.

“Governments at all levels have made it clear through their actions that the level of protection you have against COVID-19 has become a personal choice,” Agnew added.

“We will continue both our vaccination policy and our current approach to masking to the end of the calendar year. Our vaccination policy will expire then. Our current mask mandate — which requires masks in classrooms, labs and certain other settings — will continue until further notice.”

Seneca College

Seneca College. Photo: Shuttershock. 


Seneca College mandated face masks in classrooms and labs on July 4, 2022. At the time, the college instructed faculty that they could temporarily remove a mask when speaking inside a classroom or lab but that physical distancing must be applied.

The University of Toronto was one of a few post-secondary institutions to reinstate vaccination requirements for students and employees living in residences ahead of the fall. In late September, U of T said that less than one per cent of the 8,400 students living in its campus residences had requested an exemption to its triple-COVID-19-shot mandate.

The province has opened up new bivalent vaccinations to everyone 12-and-up, which can be administered three to six months after a second dose of the primary vaccine series or the most recent booster shot.

Seneca College’s president maintained that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and influenza is the best method at helping to limit the spread of viruses.

“Please make sure your vaccinations are up-to-date,” Agnew said.

“The virus continues to circulate widely in the community, and flu season is upon us. Getting vaccinated remains the best way to avoid serious illness or worse.”

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