Ontario’s post-secondary educational institutions are enduring a double whammy of frozen tuition fees and cuts to international student intakes. This is causing significant economic hardship for those institutions which, as major economic drivers in their communities, in turn reduces economic activity and prosperity overall. 

Brock and Niagara College are major economic drivers for Niagara, employing almost eight thousand people and contributing over $2 billion per year to Niagara’s economy. Cutbacks to their programs and employment would be felt all across the region as so many businesses sell goods and services directly to them, to their staff, and to their students. 

Funding to domestic colleges and universities in Ontario was effectively frozen in 2017, followed by a 10% tuition fee cut in 2019 and freeze, which has continued ever since. Ontario’s per-student funding is now at 57% of the Canadian average for university students and 44% for college students.  

Due to federal government changes, the number of international student applications in Ontario dropped by 23% in 2025.  

Post-secondary institutions are already cutting back programs. So far, St. Lawrence College, Algonquin College, Centennial College, Seneca College and York University have all suspended programs as a result of financial pressure. 

We need to relieving financial pressure on post-secondary institutions by implementing a 10 per-cent increase in provincial grants for post-secondary programs, ending the tuition freeze and permitting predictable and modest tuition increases, and dedicating applied research funding to colleges and universities in support of SMEs.  

2023-ongoing