What to know
- Ontario is ending its seven-year tuition freeze, allowing colleges and universities to raise fees by up to two per cent annually starting this fall.
- OSAP will shift to mostly loans, with students eligible for a maximum of 25 per cent in grants and at least 75 per cent in loans.
- The province is investing an additional $6.4 billion over four years, boosting annual operating funding to $7 billion.
- The new funding model will prioritize programs tied to labour market demand and add 70,000 seats in in-demand fields.
Ontario is revamping college and university funding, which starts with lifting its seven-year tuition freeze and decreasing grants for students.
Beginning this September, the move is part of a sweeping $6.4-billion plan aimed at stabilizing the province’s postsecondary sector.
In a press release issued Thursday, the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security framed the initiative as a necessary step to ensure the “long-term sustainability” of institutions facing mounting financial pressure, particularly after federal caps on international student permits significantly reduced a key revenue stream.
Under the updated tuition framework, publicly assisted colleges and universities will be permitted to increase tuition by up to two per cent per year for three years. After that, institutions can raise fees by up to two per cent or the three-year average rate of inflation — whichever is lower.
The province says the allowed hikes will remain “among the lowest of any province in Canada.”
On average, the government estimates the increases will amount to approximately 18 cents per day for college students and 47 cents per day for university students. Actual costs will vary depending on the program and institution.
Low-income students will see the additional cost covered through an enhanced Student Access Guarantee (SAG), the province says. However, the announcement also includes significant changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) that could offset that relief.
OSAP shifts toward mostly loans
Students will now be eligible to receive a maximum of 25 per cent of their OSAP funding as grants and a minimum of 75 per cent as loans.
The province says the move will “strengthen the long-term sustainability” of OSAP and bring Ontario in line with other jurisdictions. Grants will also no longer be available to students attending private career colleges.
The province is investing $6.4 billion over four years
Ontario will invest an additional $6.4 billion into the sector over four years. Annual operating funding will rise to $7 billion — a 30 per cent increase and, according to the government, the highest level in Ontario’s history.
The new model promises more predictable funding and will prioritize programs aligned with labour market demand. The province says it will fund 70,000 additional seats in “in-demand” fields and provide targeted support to small, rural, northern, French-language and Indigenous institutions.
“Today’s funding announcement comes at a critical time and will help ensure Ontario’s universities continue to protect and grow the province by delivering the talent and innovation needed to remain competitive and position Ontario for the future,” President and CEO of Council of Ontario Universities Steve Orsini said in the news release.
