[1] The school was founded in 1973 when St. Augustine's Seminary decided to use extra classroom space due to its declining student enrollment.

Located on a 18-hectare (44-acre) campus, St. John Henry Newman Catholic High School overlooks a broad vista that contains both the Scarborough Bluffs and Lake Ontario.

The college's eastern residential wing was demolished and rebuilt as Cardinal Newman, opened on September 4, 1973, with the new building erected in 1976.

In addition, Cardinal Newman was at the forefront of programs like peer counselling, mediation, electronic keyboarding, and communications technology.

St. John Henry Newman is one of the oldest buildings within the Toronto Catholic District School Board that needs massive repairs due to aging infrastructure and harsh weather.

[6] On November 9, 2015, The Ontario Government announced to spend $30 million to construct a modern, state-of-the-art school with learning spaces for 1,110 students.