As part of a comprehensive financial sustainability plan, the Blue-Ribbon Panel report detailing recommendations was released in November last year.

“At this critical juncture for the postsecondary sector, Ontario’s universities and their students, stand united in urging the government to take immediate action to invest in higher education,” a new joint open letter published on January 15 by Steve Orsini, president and CEO, Council of Ontario Universities, and Vivian Chiem, president, Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, reads.

On January 9, Orsini presented at the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, sharing the risks that institutions and students are being put at due to provincial policies, claiming Ontario universities have now reached “breaking point”.

The current funding cap on domestic enrolment creates a growing barrier for Ontario students to attend an Ontario university, highlighted Orsini in his remarks.

“There are currently about 20,000 domestic students that are not funded by the province, resulting in a CAN$175 million loss in revenue per year to the sector,” he said.

In addition, Orsini pointed out that Ontario has the lowest per student funding in the country and that provincial operating grants represent about 30% of total operating revenues.

The panel’s recommendations include boosting operating grants by 10% this year and indexing future increases.

Another blow has been the cut and freeze to tuition over five years reducing the real value of tuition by 25%, said Orsini.

1/2 Today, COU President @SteveOrsini spoke to SCFEA about how universities are at a breaking point & is calling @ONgov to immediately implement the Blue-Ribbon Panel’s recommendations to address the financial sustainability of the university sector. @erniehardeman @JillDunlop1 pic.twitter.com/A4jtj5vgpb

— Ontario’s Universities (@OntUniv) January 9, 2024

Together, Chiem and Orsini highlighted that 10 Ontario universities are currently projecting an operating budget deficit for 2023/24 for a combined total of more than $175m, growing to $250m in 2024/25.

A spokesperson for the the University of Waterloo told The PIE News it continues to project an overall operating budget shortfall of $15m this year and puts this down to the ongoing tuition and grant funding freeze for domestic Ontario students, as well as inflationary pressures and rising interest rates.

“That shortfall is expected to be covered using central reserve funds but this approach is unsustainable on an ongoing basis and challenges how the university provides a top-quality education to tens of thousands of students each year,” the spokesperson continued.

“Without clear and transformative changes to the current Ontario university funding environment, our operating budget deficit is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.”

Chiem and Orsini’s letter added that the government “can ensure Ontario’s students have the supports they need to be successful” with increased financial support.

The pair said that the wellbeing of the sector rests on rests on a three-fold partnership – universities, students and government.

“We all have a role to play in shaping the future of higher education, and it is incumbent upon the government to provide the necessary investments to drive positive change for universities and the students they serve.”

Campaigners like Orsini and Chiem are arguing that financial pressures have led to cuts that are impacting vital student supports and services in areas such as mental health, career services and extra-curricular activities.

In 2021/22, universities invested more than $1.4 billion in student services, a 22% increase over the last five years. However, Orsini highlighted that provincial funding for student services totalled just 3% of these costs.

Demand is set to rise across the province as over the last two years, university applications have increased by 11% and the Ontario Ministry of Finance is forecasting population growth of 18- to 24-year-olds.

Meanwhile, New Democratic Party MPP Peggy Sattler claimed that institutions have been forced to “ramp up” international student recruitment “because that’s one way they can bring those dollars into the institution”.

Some say it’s a situation that is spilling on to the wider economy, inflating rental rates but Orsini argued that institutions have in fact been “very responsible” in their international recruitment, but he continued to reinforce the other risks that remain.