During this time, life went on at Collège Sainte-Anne as best as it could. Final decisions about the future were slow in coming but at least through Mr. Comeau’s political influence, the College did received some financial support.

The events which took place on June 21, 1971, mark a turning point in the history of the College because on this date, the Eudist Fathers relinquished their hold on the institution and passed control to a lay Board of Governors. Many reasons surround this transition to a secular institution, but the most important ones are financial considerations and the total exhaustion of the Eudist Fathers. This congregation had devoted 81 years to the establishment of Collège Sainte-Anne and their determination and hard work were not quickly forgotten. Father Renaud Côté retired as College president and Mr. Louis R. Comeau was named first lay president of Collège Sainte-Anne. However, it is only at the end of Mr. Comeau's mandate that the College was renamed Université Sainte-Anne. On June 30, 1977, Mr. Benoit Comeau presented a private member's bill in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia to make into law this change in name.