Ontario colleges, universities and businesses call for more post-secondary funding

Queen’s Park is shown in Toronto, Feb. 20, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

TORONTO — Three major organizations representing Ontario's colleges, universities and business community are urging the province to boost investment in the post-secondary sector, saying the economic threat from the United States underscores the need.

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the Council of Ontario Universities and Colleges Ontario released an open letter Thursday to Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn and Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, both of whom were reappointed Wednesday to those cabinet positions.

The groups are calling for increased operating funding and money to expand enrolment, as well as enhanced research funding and stronger partnerships between government, industry and academia.

"Without immediate and effective investments, institutions will be forced to make decisions that compromise the quality of education and limit accessibility, eroding the province’s reputation and ability to attract and retain talent," the groups wrote.

"They are already forced to turn away excellent students in high-demand programs and struggle to be competitive in the battle to attract global research talent. This is harming the dozens of Ontario communities that depend on their local post-secondary institutions as economic drivers and magnets that attract and retain bright young people."

Supporting talent development, upskilling and re-skilling are more important than ever, they wrote, given the potential looming economic disruption and the need for Ontario to become more competitive and self-reliant.

U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed and threatened various rounds of tariffs on Canadian products, and has spoken about wanting companies to move manufacturing such as in the auto sector from Canada into the United States.

"It's certainly a threat that we haven’t faced before and it certainly makes the acuity of (post-secondary finances) that much greater," Maureen Adamson, president and CEO of Colleges Ontario, said in an interview.

"When you think about Ontario’s college sector, we are the sector that provides the talent pipeline for the many things that are required to remain self reliant — the advanced manufacturing folks, the technicians, whether it’s energy, whether it’s tourism, the college sector is really the pipeline for those workers."

Ontario's colleges and universities have been increasingly struggling with finances in the face of low provincial funding, frozen tuition fees and federal cuts to international student permits. They say an additional $1.3 billion in funding over three years announced last year by the province does not come close to sustaining the sector.

The provincial government commissioned an expert panel to look at post-secondary finances and it recommended a one-time, 10 per cent increase in per-student funding to colleges and universities followed by inflationary increases in subsequent years, as well as a five per cent increase in tuition along with an "equally generous" increase to student aid.

That would have amounted to $2.5 billion in ongoing base funding over the next three years.

The expert panel and Ontario's auditor general have both said that low levels of provincial funding over several years combined with a 2019 tuition fee cut and freeze are a large part of the reason institutions had turned increasingly to international student tuition fees — which are much higher than what domestic students pay — to stay afloat.

The federal government has drastically reduced the number of international study permits, and as a consequence colleges across the province have been cutting programs and closing campuses.

The international student revenue had been helping fund certain programs for local students, Adamson said.

"In some of our domestic programs, trade and technology being one of the most expensive to deliver, we lose between $2,000 and $20,000 per student (per year) to deliver these programs and now that the international revenue cannot subsidize that, we’re in the situation that we’re in," she said.

Shoring up post-secondary finances will also help restore their brand and attract students and researchers, said Steve Orsini, president and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities.

"We're at the (point) of where we're downsizing, and we're going to miss an opportunity to get the best and brightest in the world and build up our economy," he said in an interview.

"So the funding — the operating funding, the enrolment growth funding — these are all vital for our ability to attract both the top researchers and international students to Canada. Our economy needs that additional talent to ensure we can compete for the future."

A spokesperson for Quinn defended the province's post-secondary funding.

"Our post-secondary institutions have a responsibility to ensure students across the province are being provided a world-class education that prepares them for the in-demand jobs in our key sectors," Bianca Giacoboni wrote in a statement.

"As part of our plan to protect Ontario, we are investing over $500 million to expand STEM and skilled trades programs in Ontario, so that students can get into rewarding careers that address the province’s current and future labour market needs."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2025.

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press