Ontario universities are warning that financial strain risks hindering the government’s mission to build a strong economy.
Ontario’s 2025 Fall Economic Statement (FES) titled A Plan to Protect Ontario was delivered by Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy on Nov. 6 and has received some backlash from the Council of Ontario Universities (COU).
The COU, which represents publicly assisted universities across the province, released a statement on Nov. 6. In it, they argue that the FES focused broadly on economic growth and affordability but included few new commitments for postsecondary institutions. Also claiming that the FES failed to address the core financial stressors on Ontario universities, including rising deficits, frozen tuition, and funding caps for domestic enrolment.
In a response to the FES, the COU said Ontario’s universities continue to face serious and growing shortfalls. According to the statement, universities have implemented nearly $550 million in cuts over recent years, resulting in staff reductions, program and service cuts.
Queen’s has experienced these cuts firsthand, including some courses seeing half of their TAs being cut earlier this year, on top of claims that Faculty of Arts and Science staff were laid off in the summer, along with cuts to the DAN School of Drama and Music.
Even after these cuts, according to the COU, there is still a projected $265 million deficit across Ontario’s universities in 2025–26, with ongoing deficits expected to grow in the years ahead.
“Ontario’s universities support the government’s continued focus on building a strong economy […] and reaffirm that sustained investment in universities is essential to achieving that goal,” the COU said in the release. “Yet the financial challenges facing Ontario’s universities threaten their ability to deliver on that mission.”
The statement follows an earlier Oct. 29 release issued ahead of the FES, in which COU President and CEO Steve Orsini called the situation a “breaking point.”
The COU Oct. 29 release issued four key initiatives calling the province to double and continue to increase sustainability funding to match rising costs, fund enrolment growth to meet student demand, boost support for smaller and specialized institutions, and provide financial relief for losses tied to Bill 124 and declining international student enrolment. The Ontario government’s FES didn’t deliver on any of these calls to action in the statement.
According to the COU, Ontario universities receive the lowest per-student funding in Canada and in 2022-23, students were funded only 55 per cent of the national average. Combined with the ongoing tuition freeze, the cap on funded domestic enrolment has further strained budgets, the COU wrote.
Queen’s alone projects its operating budget deficit to be $26.4 million for 2025-26, largely due to a decline in graduate tuition revenue and provincial and federal policies and funding cuts.
READ MORE: Operating budget projects $26.4 million deficit
The COU claims that Ontario’s universities are also forecasting a one-billion-dollar revenue loss over two years due to federal changes to study permits. The Nov. 6 COU release warned that a potential halving of international study permits outlined in the federal budget could worsen the situation and further undermine financial stability.
In both statements, the COU emphasized the role of universities as engines of economic growth, workforce development, and innovation.
“The need is urgent, but the solution is clear,” Orsini wrote. “Investing in universities is investing in Ontario’s future prosperity.”
The Journal reached out to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities for comment following COU’s Oct. 29 statement, but the Ministry didn’t respond.
Tags
COU, Ministry of Colleges and Universities, provincial funding
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