As Ontario colleges deal with the financial aftermath of the international student cap, several colleges have announced staff cuts due to significant deficits.
Several colleges, including Georgian, Mohawk, and Fanshawe, have all recently announced staffing cuts, among others, to deal with the lack of international student enrolment.
“Sweeping policy measures in 2024 introduced by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada exacerbated chronic underfunding challenges. We’ve had to make some tough choices over the last year to ensure the long-term sustainability of our organization and, unfortunately, continue to do so,” said Georgian’s president and CEO, Kevin Weaver, in an online statement Tuesday.
As of Feb. 20, Georgian College confirmed that 86 roles have been impacted: 45 layoffs, 31 voluntary retirements and 10 vacancy closures.
These latest cuts bring the total number of full-time positions impacted since January 2024, when the international student enrolment policy changes were announced, to 229, representing about 22 per cent of Georgian’s full-time workforce.
Georgian has an approximate $45 million financial gap for the 2025 to 2026 school year and an estimated additional gap of $15 to $20 million for the next one, and they are not alone.
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On Wednesday during a Town Hall streamed live on YouTube, Fanshawe’s president, Peter Devlin, said the college is facing a $35-million deficit this year, with that expected to grow to $60 million by the next year.
Devlin pointed to the cap on international students as the reason for the deficit, noting that enrolment for international students is expected to drop 64 per cent by the 2026-2027 school year.
Devlin would not confirm how many positions would be cut but said that a hiring freeze was in effect and that early retirement packages were being offered starting next month.
In a statement, a Fanshawe representative said that in May, they would have “a better idea of the impact on our workforce at that time” and that the reductions would be phased and in line with the drop in international students.
Last year, the federal government announced a 35-per cent reduction in study permits, bringing the number down to an estimated 360,000 for 2024.
These cuts are having a major impact on the finances of both universities and colleges, as international students pay much higher tuition fees than their domestic counterparts.
The cap on students has left many post-secondary institutions nationwide struggling to fill the funding gap, and to decide which programs and services they can live without.
Many schools have already announced cuts to programming and services, with others shutting down some campuses.
Colleges have been using these challenges to push for more sustainable funding models from the government to help make up the difference.
“As we continue to work together to solve our internal challenges and assist our partners in addressing their own, I urge the government and industry to join Georgian and our sector in rethinking how colleges are supported so we can maximize and expand our collective impact,” Weaver said.
–with files from Global News’ Aaron D’Andrea The Canadian Press
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