Queen’s enrolment of self-identified Indigenous students continues to grow, but at a slower pace than previous years.
In a statement to The Journal, the University said its Indigenous recruitment position was vacant from September 2024 to February 2025 while a search was completed.
While the University did not provide information about increases or decreases in enrolment for the 2026-27 academic year, Queen’s said it is “committed to continuing to grow participation rates among equity-deserving student communities, including Indigenous students.”
According to Queen’s 2018-19 Enrolment Report, 445 self-identified Indigenous students enrolled at the University, representing 1.6 per cent of total enrolment.
In the University’s 2024-25 Enrolment Report, 807 self-identified Indigenous students were enrolled, making up 2.8 per cent of the total enrolment.
This means over six academic-year intervals, Queen’s self-identified Indigenous student enrolment increased by 362 students, nearly doubling. This amounts to an average increase of approximately 60 students per year.
But between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 reports, the number increased by nine students. Indigenous students represented 2.9 per cent of enrolment in 2025-26.
Total student enrolment at Queen’s has also increased over this period. In 2018-19, there were 24,649 students enrolled at Queen’s, compared to 28,561 in 2025-26.
In an interview with The Journal, AMS President Dreyden George spoke about the slower growth in Indigenous enrolment, saying that calculating the percentage of enrolment is “tricky” because it is “always going to be affected by proportionality.”
The 2018-19 Enrolment Report states that the number of self-identified Indigenous students is comprised through undergraduate and graduate applications, as well as the University’s self-identification mechanism in SOLUS. The report also states that the number “is believed to be under-representative as some students choose not to self-identify.”
In April 2011, Queen’s established its Indigenous Student Admission Policy, now known as the Indigenous Student Admission Pathway, to take effect for the 2011-12 academic year, according to the University Secretariat and Legal Counsel.
The pathway offers Indigenous candidates applying to Queen’s through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) an alternative path through admissions for an undergraduate degree program.
Students applying through this pathway are guaranteed Jay Treaty Recognition — which waives the international student tuition for verified members of Indigenous nations in the U.S. — support throughout the admission process, priority admission consideration, merit-based financial awards, a residence guarantee, early move-in, and early connection to the Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre and cultural supports.
As someone who applied through this pathway, George said it was not the pathway itself that attracts students to the University, but the supports and opportunities associated with it.
He said changes in enrolment can be attributed to many factors, including socio-economic factors and affordability. While the program supports students at the beginning of their degree, George said other grants, financial aids, and bursaries are often not promoted.
“It’s more of just, I think, trying to find that sweet spot of noting that there has been a decline and how can we improve to get back to seeing a larger growth,” George said.
In Queen’s Short Term Enrolment Projection 2022-25 the University highlighted that applications from self-identified Indigenous undergraduate applicants increased by 249 per cent from 2011-12 to 2021-22.
However, in its Short-Term Enrolment Projection 2025-2028, the University did not provide data on the number of Indigenous students enrolled.
Queen’s self-identified Indigenous enrolment data for the 2026-27 academic year is currently unavailable, as enrolment reports are usually in late January or early February.
Tags
Enrolment Report, Indigenous recruitment, Indigenous students
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