Some universities in Ontario are racking up multimillion-dollar deficits, including institutions in Waterloo Region.
Experts said the provincial government holds many of the answers, but with an election just 16 days away, it’s unclear whether the issue will get much political attention.
The University of Waterloo is heading into 2025 with a massive operating deficit. Before making significant cuts, it was looking at a $75 million shortfall. The school said it was able to reduce the impact by trimming $42 million from facilities and academic support units. It also implemented a voluntary retirement program and a hiring freeze to try to stabilize its budget.
The University of Waterloo, however, isn’t the only one facing a financial freefall.
The University of Guelph also posted a loss of over $10 million.
In Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University faced a similar fate but school representatives said they implemented austerity measures, such as maintaining position vacancies. The school also received a one-time funding boost of $11.6 million from the Provincial Postsecondary Stabilization Fund.
Wilfrid Laurier University expected to end the 2024/2025 fiscal year with its operating budget in a near break-even position, while continuing to look into other ways to save money, including ongoing austerity measures. The school told CTV News they also had slightly better than expected enrolment, as well as receiving one-time only government grants.
They are, however, not out of the woods yet.
“Given the ongoing domestic tuition freeze, largely frozen grant funding and impacts on international student recruitment as a result of federal government caps, the 2025/26 budget year is projecting an operating budget deficit of close to $22 million and growing each year thereafter,” a WLU representative said in an emailed statement.
The crisis isn’t limited to Waterloo Region, with universities across Ontario also feel the financial squeeze.
‘It’s starting to bite’
Alex Usher, from Higher Education Strategy Associates, said the crisis is largely the result of a long-standing problem.
“It was the underfunding that led to the dependence on international students, and it was the removal of international students that caused the immediate crisis,” he explained.
Usher also noted the federal cap on international student visas, intended to ease the housing crisis, has further strained university budgets.
“It’s not that we’re in any different a position than we were a year ago, it’s just that it’s starting to bite.”
Ontario has long been ranked last for public funding of post-secondary education in Canada, according to Usher.
“The unwillingness of Ontarians to pay for post-secondary education, either through public funding or tuition, is legendary,” he said.
Election impact
Usher believes funding for education could potentially be an issue in the Ontario election, but doubts it will be.
“Countries with strong economies always have strong universities, of one kind or another, that support them,” he said.
While big picture issues like innovation and workforce education often struggle to capture the attentions of voters, Usher believes a more immediate concern - access to programs - could resonate with families.
“That should be the ballot question in terms of education. Which party is going to give you the ability to get your kids into the programs they want to get into?”
Usher stated that, so far, no major party has proposed significant funding increases or tuition hikes to address the shortfall.
“I don’t get the sense that any party is prepared to raise tuition, and they don’t get the sense that any party is prepared to invest significant sums of money into post-secondary.”
Usher said colleges in Ontario are also in trouble. Nearly 200 programs have been cut this year, and he predicts close to 1,000 more could disappear before the end of the month.
