Funding

An overview of Ontario government’s cuts to higher education and the attempted bankrupting of democratic student organizations.

More information pages from our coalition partners available here.

Summary

Unfunded 10% Tuition Fee Reduction will result in an approximate 4% cut to university budgets. Universities will be under pressure to outsource, cut services, increase precarious employment, and/or lay-off staff.
Regressive OSAP changes will result in massive increased student debt and increased burden for mature students.

New funding announcement welcome, but still leaves Ontario at the bottom of the heap, increases student debt

TORONTO, ON. February 13, 2026 – The recent funding announcement from the provincial government is a welcome injection of needed funding to the post-secondary sector, but shifts much financial burden to students, says the Ontario Universities and Colleges Coalition (OUCC).

The announcement from the Ontario Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security (MCURES) to the Ontario post-secondary sector is significant. While this represents progress following years of sustained advocacy across the sector, it does not close Ontario’s longstanding funding gap. Even after this increase, Ontario will continue to rank last in per-student funding for colleges and universities, remaining well below the national average.

Government-announced PSE funding is inadequate and falls short of what is needed for a robust, sustainable post-secondary education sector

The Ontario University and Colleges Coalition (OUCC), which represents over 435,000 faculty, staff, and students from every public postsecondary institution in Ontario, has been ringing the alarm on the post-secondary education sector’s underfunding crisis, which has been in the making for over a decade through consecutive austerity budgets, privatization, and burdening students and their families with financing the sector. The issue of underfunding is well documented by labour unions and associations in the sector, confirmed by multiple reports from the Auditor General of Ontario, and also echoed by the government’s own Blue-Ribbon panel.

The Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario has launched a campaign called Education for All.

Access to post secondary education is a critical part of responding to the COVID-19 crisis and ensuring a successful social and economic recovery. Unfortunately, decades of government funding shortfalls have created barriers to accessing education. Ontario students pay some of the highest tuition fees in the country and graduate with an average $28,000 in debt.

Click the image below to learn more about the campaign.