MCI was built in 1992 to relieve pressure from Milliken Mills High School because of the quickly expanding population of the newly developed East Milliken neighbourhood, which had been forest around the Rouge River. Until 2000, the school was underused, with no more than 130 students graduating each year (compared to about 450 in 2010-2011). Because of a large development process and an even bigger immigrant influx, the school population almost doubled in the next five years and has been steadily climbing since then.