Social Policy in Ontario

While the provincial government’s recent spate of ministerial directives and legislation shows an intention to impinge on university autonomy and dictate university operations, it has been curiously silent on the major issue facing universities that is within its power to fix: that Ontario universities receive the lowest funding per domestic full time equivalent student (FTE) by far.

Upon becoming premier in 2018, Doug Ford inherited a university system that was already the lowest funded in the country. In 2018-19, Ford’s first full academic year as premier, Ontario provided its universities with $10,461 per domestic FTE in total university funding. This was $4,924 less than the Canadian provincial funding average.

The Ford government has not improved this situation; rather, it has made it significantly worse. By 2022-23, Ontario provided $10,246 per domestic FTE – less than what it provided in 2018-19, even without accounting for inflation. That year, Ontario universities received $6,543 less per domestic FTE than the Canadian provincial funding average.

Had Ontario funded its universities at the national funding average over the five years between 2018-19 and 2022-23, it would have provided its universities with an additional $11.9 billion in total university funding.

Recent funding announcements, whether the $1.3 billion shared between universities and colleges over three years or the new $150 million in annual funding for postsecondary STEM programs for the next five years, do not come close to addressing this funding gap. Ontario deserves better.

OCUFA <communications@ocufa.on.ca>