About GBC
Founded in 1967, George Brown College has been providing career-focused education to students in Toronto for 55 years. We prepare innovative, adaptable graduates with the skills to thrive in a rapidly changing job market. With three campuses in the downtown core, George Brown blends theory with experiential learning, college-led research and entrepreneurship opportunities.
The college offers 164 full-time programs and 180 continuing education certificates and designations across a wide variety of professions to a student body of more than 27,100 full-time students, including 29 percent international students and receives more than 58,000 continuing education registrations annually. Students can earn certificates, diplomas, graduate certificates, apprenticeships and degrees.
Land Acknowledgement
George Brown College is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and other Indigenous peoples who have lived here over time. We are grateful to share this land as treaty people who learn, work and live in the community with each other.
Star Blanket Medallion
In October 2021, George Brown College’s Indigenous Initiatives team unveiled a new medallion, featuring a star blanket design created by artist Joseph Sagaj. In Ojibwe teachings, the star blanket is seven-pointed and carries the seven original clans and the seven grandmother/grandfather teachings. It can represent legends, stories, events, and different perspectives of culture and heritage. A story is told through the star blanket by the reflecting elements of nature and the colours chosen.
The star blanket is symbolic and accompanies its own origin story in many Indigenous communities across Turtle Island. In Anishinaabe culture, the collective understanding is that we are the descendants of the stars and our inherent connection to the stars spans across generations.
Symbolic elements in the medallion include:
- The morning star that is represented in this medallion ties in our Creation to Winona, the first woman, who was lowered from the sky.
- Yellow represents the sun.
- Sky blue represents the wind and water.
- Green represents mother earth.
- Purple represents grandmother spirit.
- Navy blue represents the raven or health.
- Red represents thunder.
Eagle Feather
The Eagle, or Migizi in Anishinaabemowin, is viewed by Anishinaabe people as the messenger between the people and the Creator. As a symbol of honesty and truth, the Eagle shows courage, strength, and vision. It is also the predominant totem of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN), upon whose traditional territory George Brown is located.
The Eagle feather is the most sacred and honoured gift given to an individual and must be obtained from an Elder or Knowledge Keeper. According to the MCFN, “The Eagle is our most sacred of birds because the Eagle carries our prayers to the Creator and is therefore heard. The Eagle is also our relative and is part of our family. As a part of our family, we must care for and respect that it has given up its life so that a person may carry its feathers.”
Eagle feathers hold great significance for some Indigenous peoples and are commonly used in ceremonies. As the late Edward Benton-Benai tells us in The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway, “we owe our lives and lives of our children to the Eagle” due to Migizi saving us from destruction by advocating to the Creator that there were still people that remained true to their original instruction.
Coat of Arms
Introduced in Spring 2019, the George Brown College coat of arms showcases our core values and celebrates our treasured links to the past. It was designed by Bruce Patterson, Deputy Chief Herald of Canada, with input from stakeholders from across the college.
Design elements include:
- A red-tailed hawk holding birchbark, which original inhabitants of this land used as a means of communication and recording knowledge.
- Trillium flowers and maple leaves representing Ontario and Canada, respectively.
- A grid pattern that alludes to downtown city streets and the intersection of multiple learning disciplines, rendered in the college’s colours of blue and white.
- Multiple coloured squares representing the diversity of the student body, the city of Toronto, and the different academic centres.
- Two huskies, the mascot of our sports teams.
- A stone wall alluding to Casa Loma, the Toronto landmark that inspired the name of one campus.
- A wavy bar representing water, which reflects our proximity to Lake Ontario.
- The phrase “Inspire new confidence,” is a quote from the college’s namesake, the Toronto publisher, politician, and Father of Confederation George Brown.
