Colleges Ontario is asking the province for $1.5 billion in the 2026 budget to address a structural funding gap it warns could reduce student access and weaken workforce training in high-demand sectors.
The association representing Ontario’s 24 public colleges said the sector faces a deficit of up to $1.5 billion by 2027-28, driven by underfunding, a domestic tuition freeze and steep federal cuts to international enrolment.
The funding request includes $1.1 billion to close the operating funding gap through increased grants and updated tuition policy, $200 million to expand programs in skilled trades, health care, technology and advanced manufacturing, $200 million annually to maintain regional access for small, northern, rural and French-language colleges, and $100 million over three years for sector-wide collaboration and system modernization.
Current funding challenges
Operating grants remain about $7,700 per student below the national average, while domestic tuition sits roughly $1,100 lower than in other provinces, according to the association. Federal immigration policy changes are expected to reduce international enrolment by more than 70 per cent from 2023-24 levels, removing up to $4.2 billion in revenue by 2027-28.
Colleges Ontario estimates the structural funding gap exceeds $5,200 per student per year.
Cuts already made
Colleges have reduced costs by $1.4 billion annualized, suspended more than 600 programs and eliminated over 8,000 positions. The association warns further cuts will shrink access for domestic students, particularly in smaller and rural communities, and worsen labour shortages.
“Colleges supply more than half the workers in sectors facing the most acute shortages that directly affect our local and provincial economies,” said Maureen Adamson, president and CEO of Colleges Ontario. “Without sustainable, predictable funding, training capacity will continue to shrink just as demand is growing and workers leave the workforce.”
Future workforce needs
Ontario will need nearly one million additional college graduates by 2035 to meet current known labour-market demand in skilled trades, health care, energy, mining and advanced manufacturing, according to the association.
The expansion funding would create up to 20,000 new training opportunities in high-priority programs.
