TORONTO, November 29, 2024 – “Ontario’s universities continue to demonstrate their unwavering commitment to efficiency, as highlighted in new data that shows that Ontario universities have become even more efficient when it comes to salaries and benefits per full-time student. In fact, since the Blue-Ribbon Panel issued its report more than a year ago – Ontario’s universities have moved from third-most efficient in Canada to second.
With a long history of finding cost savings and doing more with less, universities continue to work with internal and external stakeholders to find additional savings to ensure students have a high-quality education, while demonstrating strong stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
Ontario’s universities continue to find new and innovative ways to drive greater efficiencies, streamline and automate processes to better support students through:
- Continuous improvement through ongoing evaluation and action on institutional efficiency efforts;
- Implementing the Ministry of Colleges and Universities’ Financial Metrics Framework and Action Plans;
- Building on the Blue-Ribbon Panel’s and Auditor General’s recommendations; and
- Driving sector-wide collaborative initiatives.
These efforts highlight the sector’s steadfast commitment to streamlined processes and enhanced productivity. Universities will continue to work with government, community stakeholders and business to showcase how they have and will continue to find new and innovative ways to be even more efficient.
However, while the sector remains dedicated to finding efficiencies, the funding gap is far too large to close with efficiency measures alone. Even the government’s appointed experts – the Blue-Ribbon Panel on Postsecondary Education Financial Sustainability – recognized that Ontario universities were among the most efficient in the country and called on the province to boost operating funding to ensure the sector’s long-term financial sustainability.
While the provincial government’s February funding announcement provided urgent relief to help stabilize the sector, it falls far short of the Blue-Ribbon Panel’s recommendations:
- After 15 years of no per-student funding increases, the Blue-Ribbon Panel recommended a 15% increase in base revenues and 4% annual increases thereafter.
- Instead, the province provided time-limited funding increases of 3% in 2024-25 and 2% for the following two years.
- As this funding is scheduled to end two and a half years from now, Ontario universities are now bracing for a funding cut after 2026-27.
- This time-limited funding fails to keep pace with inflation and represents less than one-third of what the Panel recommended in permanent, ongoing operating revenue increases.
- Even after factoring in the government’s initial funding increase for the first year, 10 Ontario universities are reporting more than $300 million in deficits in 2023-24.
Exacerbating these financial challenges are federal changes to international study permits, which have significantly affected universities’ financial stability, despite the fact that universities acted responsibly in the recruitment and enrolment of international students. Due to these blunt federal changes alone, Ontario universities are estimating reduced revenues of more than $300 million in 2024-25, compared to the previous year, doubling to more than $600 million the following year, if trends continue. That’s nearly $1 billion in reduced revenues in the first two years of federal changes.
With growing international threats to our economy, Ontario’s universities will play an even more vital role in developing the highly skilled talent that the economy needs, and driving innovation to boost Ontario’s economic growth and competitiveness.
By working together to address these financial challenges through greater investment in the university sector, the combined efforts of the government and the sector will lead to stronger, financially sustainable universities that support student success and help drive economic growth and prosperity.
The time for government action and investment in Ontario’s universities – and Ontario’s future – is now.”
– Steve Orsini, President and CEO, Council of Ontario Universities