[2] The school was proposed in 1925 by Dr. Thomas Todhunter Shields, editor of The Gospel Witness and pastor of the Jarvis Street Baptist Church, who was dismayed that modernism had taken hold in contemporary theological institutions; namely McMaster University (then located in Toronto), which provided training for Ontario and Quebec's Baptist ministers.
"[3] From that opening date, continuous classes of students have been trained in the Seminary except for a break of three years during World War II.
Today, Toronto Baptist Seminary affirms solidarity and cooperation with similar evangelical institutions.
In the post-war era, Toronto Baptist Seminary has hosted multiple generations of administrators, professors, and students passing through its facilities, notable among them, Michael A. G. Haykin, who was the principal from 2003 to 2007.
However, in 1982, the Ontario legislature officially recognized the seminary as a degree-granting institution through the passage of Bill PR 44.