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TORONTO — Ontario is giving colleges and universities billions in new funding, while lifting a seven-year tuition fee freeze and cutting back on the amount of student assistance grants.
The moves are in response to a post-secondary financial crisis, following years of low levels of government funding, stagnant domestic tuition levels since 2019 and sharply reduced numbers of international students and the high tuition fees institutions can charge them.
Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn has been reviewing the post-secondary funding formula and announced changes Thursday that will amount to $6.4 billion in additional money over four years.
“If we want Ontario to have a competitive workforce tomorrow, we need to strengthen our post-secondary institutions today, and that’s exactly what our government is doing,” Quinn said.
The additional funding includes money for 70,000 more seats for in-demand programs, increased funding for programs that are more expensive for the schools to offer and more per-student funding.
Colleges and universities will also be able to raise tuition fees by up to two per cent per year for the next three years. After that period of time, tuition fee increases will be limited to either two per cent or the average inflation rate, whichever is lower.
The government is also decreasing the proportion of grants offered through the Ontario Student Assistance Program, relying much more heavily on loans. The current proportion is about 85 per cent grants to 15 per cent loans, the government said, but starting this fall students will receive a maximum of 25 per cent of their OSAP funding as grants.
Demand for OSAP has been rising significantly and the growth was unsustainable, Quinn said.
“This will ensure sustainability and balance for the system,” he said. “We want to ensure that all students in future generations have access to OSAP as well.”
In line with federal government changes, students at private career colleges will no longer be eligible for grants through OSAP, only loans.
Representatives from universities and colleges said the funding and ability to implement “modest” tuition-fee increases will ease the pressures they were facing.
“This new investment strengthens the very foundation our universities provide, greater sustainability and long-term planning to support our students and local communities,” said Steve Orsini, president and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities.
Colleges, which have been particularly hard hit by cuts to the number of international students, also welcomed the announcement.
“Ontario public college graduates are essential across a wide range of industries, including advanced manufacturing, construction, transportation, mining and energy and health care,” said Maureen Adamson, president and CEO of Colleges Ontario.
“College graduates are the boots on the ground. Skilled workers are needed more than ever, and this funding expands regional opportunities for learners and employers alike.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2026.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
