Champlain College was established shortly after the Quebec Government passed the General and Vocational Act in 1967.

In addition, the college offers over a dozen Continuing Education programs for adult students, including the largest RAC (Recognition of Acquired Competencies) service of any English Cegep in the province.

[16] Champlain Saint-Lambert's Model United Nations team attends conferences in the U.S. and in Canada and hosts an annual event on campus.

[20] Champlain College Saint-Lambert hosted their first CCAA National Championship in Men's Basketball in 2008.

[21] Champlain hosted the Women's provincial basketball finals in March 2024 and won gold on home court.

[24] A movement has emerged over time among faculty and staff in favour of establishing Champlain Saint-Lambert as an independent Cégep and eliminating the Sherbrooke Central Administration offices.

It has the official support of five of the six labour unions at the St-Lambert and St-Lawrence campuses,[26] a large number of students, the CSN labour central, and the Fédération Nationale des enseignantes et enseignants du Québec (Quebec National Teachers Federation or FNEEQ).

[28] The administration in Sherbrooke both expresses concern over this movement[29] and disparages it, with the chair of the Board of Governors publicly calling it "childish".