Ontario colleges cut staff and suspend programs after international enrolment drops by 48%
Ontario’s public colleges are facing a staff reduction of nearly 10,000 positions amid what the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) described as “one of the largest mass layoffs in Ontario’s history,” as reported by The Canadian Press.
According to the union, the job cuts are tied to the cancellation or suspension of more than 600 programs, following a sharp decline in international student enrolment and tuition revenue.
An arbitrated contract between OPSEU and the College Employer Council (CEC) attributed the downturn to the federal government’s cap on international students.
The document noted that 23 of 24 Ontario colleges reported a 48 percent drop in first-semester international student enrolment between September 2023 and September 2024.
The contract also indicated that 19 colleges have reported more than 8,000 layoffs or planned job losses as of June, although that figure may understate the scale due to incomplete reporting from some institutions.
OPSEU said the overall number of affected faculty and staff has now reached close to 10,000.
Speaking outside Centennial College’s Story Arts Centre campus in Toronto — which is scheduled to close this year — OPSEU president JP Hornick stated, “This is bigger than the Hudson’s Bay liquidation, which laid off 8,000 employees across Canada.”
Hornick added that about 1.5 million Ontarians, or nearly one in 10, have seen a campus closure in their community.
Hornick emphasized that domestic programs are being suspended alongside those attended primarily by international students.
As per Hornick, programs affected include nursing, child and youth care, environmental technologies, and specialized art training unavailable elsewhere.
She also cited the closure of a culinary management program in Thunder Bay, described as the only one of its kind within 1,000 kilometres, which she said had contributed to food security in northern Ontario.
The union warned of generational consequences, stating that college workers are prepared to resist the cuts.
“We need strong colleges today for the accessible, low-barrier job training that they offer, especially in the face of trade wars that are undercutting and restructuring our economy,” said Hornick. “But instead we are bleeding jobs.”
Hornick also claimed that the Ontario government and colleges “never intended” to inform the public of the full scale of job losses and program reductions.
She said OPSEU members fought “tooth and nail” to obtain the information, adding that the post-secondary system has faced chronic underfunding.
A spokesperson for Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn rejected OPSEU’s statements, calling the union’s claims “baseless and categorically false.”
According to Bianca Giacoboni, Ontario has added more than $2bn in new funding to the college and university sector over the past 14 months, in addition to the $5bn provided annually.
Giacoboni acknowledged that “difficult decisions are being made across the country” due to federal policy changes on international students and confirmed that a funding model review will begin this summer.
The College Employer Council, the bargaining agent for Ontario’s publicly funded colleges, also disputed the union’s portrayal.
CEO Graham Lloyd stated that OPSEU had been informed of the situation as early as January 29, 2024.
“Any suggestion that the union has not been aware of the extent of the layoffs is simply inaccurate,” he said.
Lloyd added that colleges have committees specifically designated to consult unions on all layoffs, suspensions, and retirement offers.
Lloyd added that while the reported 10,000 job losses represent 17 percent of the sector’s 60,000-person workforce, the reduction is smaller than the 45 percent decline in student enrolment.
Centennial College, which OPSEU said suspended over 100 programs, challenged that number, stating it suspended 54 programs in 2025.
The college said it is under financial strain due to lower enrolment and a “broken funding model.” It added that it is collaborating with sector partners to navigate what it called “sector-wide challenges.”
