Financial problems within Canadian higher education are spreading, with some of the country¡¯s top institutions announcing multimillion-dollar deficits and job cuts.

York University announced last week it was temporarily suspending new admissions to 18 courses?because of?low enrolment and financial pressures, on top of the budget cuts already seen at Queen¡¯s University.

Glen Jones, professor of higher education at the University of Toronto (UT), said both of these institutions have been affected by ¡°draconian¡± funding cuts by the Ontario provincial government.

Though the situation varies by province, he said institutions of all sizes across Canada are facing ¡°very serious financial challenges¡±?owing to regional governments failing to provide increases in grant funding to match increases in costs and inflation.

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Jones said some universities have tried to keep their layoffs or programme cuts quiet, but he expects further announcements soon.

Elizabeth Buckner, assistant professor of higher education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at UT, said Ontario-specific policies that cut domestic student tuition have exacerbated issues at York and Queen¡¯s.

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¡°This has made the financial realities facing Ontario universities extremely difficult, given they are facing inflation as well and their cost structure is set.¡±

But she said the layoffs and programme cuts occurring across Canadian higher education were primarily being caused by the drastic cuts to international student enrolments.

McGill University, another member of the U15 leading research-intensive institutions alongside Queen¡¯s, recently revealed it needs to cut C$45 million (?25.5 million) from its 2025-26 budget to eliminate operating deficits, blaming Quebec government measures.

The provincial government increased tuition costs for out-of-province students and is rerouting some of the revenue from international students at English-language universities to French-language universities.

Buckner said UT and The University of British Columbia may be ¡°insulated¡± more because of their large research funding base, but ¡°they just likely have larger buffers to ride out the wave¡± and will suffer a revenue loss.

¡°The lack of funding to the sector as a whole is severe and is leading colleges and universities to cut programmes and staff, cut student services, and in the college sector, close partner campuses.

¡°There are various long-term consequences ¨C universities are limiting students¡¯ options, cutting programmes in the humanities, and will likely be providing fewer supports to students, increasing class sizes, and possibly reducing research output, if there are more cuts to faculty or increases in faculty workload.¡±

There was also a risk that further damage to Canada¡¯s reputation as a destination for international students could exacerbate the financial troubles of the sector, she added.

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Buckner said the financial concerns in Canada are very similar to those in the UK, but the problem could have been avoided.

¡°The specific situation is in many ways self-imposed due to the drastic, rapid cuts made by the federal government with very little consultation with the sector as a whole and little thinking about the long-term consequences.¡±

The elite institutions in difficulty join a number of smaller universities who revealed deficits of their own towards the end of last year, Trent, ?and the University of Windsor.

Limited funding and a hit on international revenue have had ¡°major implications¡± for many universities and colleges, according to Jones, as has a demographic decline in domestic students in some areas.

Yet higher education is not a big issue in the current election in Ontario, nor is it likely to be in the upcoming federal election, he warned ¨C particularly when Canada is primarily focused on the daily announcements emerging from the Trump administration.

¡°These announcements appear to have had a huge impact on election polling in terms of increasing nationalism, and anti-Americanism. What these shifts mean for higher education are far from clear.¡±

Olivier B¨¦gin-Caouette, associate professor in comparative higher education at the University of Montreal, said the current situation is fragile though ¡°not catastrophic¡± yet.

But he said a rethink over how higher education is funded is needed, with greater input from government.

¡°Universities right now, they are keeping up, but it¡¯s getting tougher and tougher, mostly because of the price hikes we¡¯ve seen because of inflation and because of the new regulations.

¡°I think governments at both levels, provincial and federal, need to sit down with university leaders and set a strategy.¡±

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patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com