Ontario’s publicly funded colleges are in a financial crisis, and journalism programs are among the casualties.
Most recently, Algonquin College has recommended suspending 30 programs, including its journalism diploma, as part of proposed cuts that would take effect in Fall 2026 if approved by the college’s Board of Governors.
The cuts are part of a broader trend across the province, where Ontario’s public colleges face a growing structural funding gap driven by an unstable funding model built on international tuition, and federal cuts to international enrolment. When colleges shrink under financial strain, the public loses not just programs, but the trained professionals and informed citizens those programs produce.
Across Ontario and Canada, journalism programs have been collapsing for years. Durham College’s journalism program has been suspended, Cambrian College’s journalism diploma was among nine programs cut when its School of Media Studies was eliminated entirely. Other institutions including Loyalist, Humber, Wilfrid Laurier and Mohawk College, have also suspended or discontinued journalism offerings in recent years.
These decisions are often framed as necessary budgetary adjustments. But cutting journalism, the field that trains people to investigate, explain, and hold power accountable, is a lasting error.
Journalism education does more than prepare graduates for careers in media. It provides students with critical thinking, ethical reporting skills, and a deep understanding of public affairs. That loss doesn’t stop at campuses, it reaches straight into the health of our democracy.
Some might argue that budget shortfalls leave colleges with no choice, but the root of this crisis isn’t sudden. Ontario’s colleges are funded significantly below the national average per student, with operating grants approximately 7700 dollars per student lower than other provinces. This underfunding, combined with recent immigration policy changes are anticipated to cut international enrolment by more than 49 per cent.
Journalism plays a unique role in democratic societies. Trained journalists expose injustices, draw attention to marginalized voices, and give context in an age of misinformation.
College journalism programs are especially important because they offer practical, skills-based training in more affordable and accessible settings, lowering the barriers to entry for students who might not otherwise see a path into the field.
Of course, not every journalist goes to journalism school. Many talented reporters come from other educational backgrounds. But that doesn’t make journalism school expendable. It provides foundations that are much harder to piece together alone. We can’t rely solely on the handful of people motivated and resourced enough to teach themselves, join student papers or internships, and navigate unpaid opportunities to carry the burden of informing the public.
Misinformation is one of the defining challenges of our future. Social media accelerates the spread of misleading information faster than ever, and public trust in information is already fragile. Weakening the systems that train people to verify facts, question sources and communicate clearly isn’t just shortsighted, it’s reckless.
Colleges can’t claim to value democracy while dismantling the education that helps sustain it.
Emmet is a first-year Political Science student and The Journal’s Assistant News Editor.
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colleges, Journalism, Journalism school, provincial government, University
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