The effects of chronic underfunding on higher education are clear—chaos and dismay have overwhelmed colleges and universities across Canada amid the sharp decline in international student intakes due to federal restrictions and the resulting loss of revenue.
Despite the possibility of increased taxes, public colleges in Ontario, deserve support through investment. Instead, colleges have been contending with a domestic fee freeze since 2019, and an over-reliance on international student tuition.
According to a 2021 auditor general report, 68 per cent of all tuition fee revenue across the 24 Ontario public colleges comes from international students.
As the province with the lowest investment per full-time domestic student, Ontario needs to change course dramatically.
The provincial and federal governments must come together to address this issue and reverse the trend of relying on international student fees. Public investment is needed.
Since 2024, the federal government has announced a series of measures that include a cap on international student intakes and other restrictions to manage immigration levels. This has exacerbated an ongoing problem of underfunding for higher education. Institutions are heavily reliant on international student fees.
Canada’s immigration ministry capped the number of study permit applications in 2024 and this year’s cap is set at 437,000, a further 10 per cent decrease.
As a result, multiple public colleges in Ontario have announced cuts to programs and staff and cited the decline in international student intakes and fees as a major reason.
Public community colleges are vulnerable not just because of their smaller size and resources, compared to universities, but also due to the government’s immigration policy. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has reserved 18 per cent of its total student application cap for graduate degree applications and made many programs ineligible to get a post-study work permit (PGWP) that colleges primarily offered.
Colleges Ontario claims post-secondary institutions are projected to lose approximately $1.7 billion in revenue because of federal restrictions. The advocacy group of 24 colleges says that the restrictions are biased towards universities.
That being said, increased public funding could affect the average citizen’s taxes. Some could argue there are more important and efficient uses for public expenditures, from upgrading old and outdated infrastructure to assisting people experiencing homelessness or addiction, these public funds could be used to increase the quality of life in Canada.
Increasing public funding for higher education is an investment in Canada.
Ontario has been charging an higher fee for international student tuition since 1977, which at the time was three times that of domestic students. This has gone up to five or six times what domestic students pay now.
Intervening in this issue is not just about securing higher education for Canadian students, but mitigating this disparity and making education accessible to everyone.
Increased public funding has been recommended by administrators, expert panels, business associations and student groups. A government-commissioned independent panel suggested in late 2023 that Ontario should unfreeze domestic student fees and increase its per-student funding in universities and colleges.
In the run-up to the recent provincial election, groups like the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and College Student Alliance called for all parties to prioritize this issue. Yet, with the reelection of the Doug Ford government – that cancelled the Colleges Task Force on its first day in 2018 and froze domestic fees in 2019 – the challenges are likely to be greater.
Tabulating all announced cuts, so far there have been 277 programs suspended across ten colleges in Ontario. According to experts, it is possible there could be over 1000 program suspensions.
Faculty, administrators and students have been raising the alarm on precarious work, larger classes, merged departments and a declining learning environment for years.
It is time to listen because investing in higher education is not only great for the economy but also for young people, local communities and democracy itself.