Social Policy in Ontario

New funding announcement brings some relief to universities, but still leaves Ontario at the bottom of the heap and increases student debt. 

Posted on March 26, 2026 in Education Debates

Source: OCUFA.on.ca — Authors: Communications

ocufa.sharepoint.com – OCUFA Report
2026.02.26. Vol 20 #2.pdf

The Ontario Government announced a package worth $6.4 billion over four years in new operating funding, alongside major revisions to tuition fees and student aid that will require students to make a larger contribution to the costs of their education. This will directly affect the affordability and accessibility of public postsecondary studies in the province.

New funding for universities and colleges is significant. However, OCUFA noted that it would take an immediate $3 billion injection of funds into the university sector to reach Canada’s average in per-domestic student funding. The government’s announcement allocates $1.6 billion in funding for all colleges and universities, which still leaves Ontario’s universities with the lowest funding in the country.

In 2023-24, the most recent year for which there is comprehensive data, Ontario provided $10,481 in total university funding per domestic full-time equivalent student, putting Ontario far behind the national average of $17,424.

Ontario’s funding is entrenched in last place, so far behind that it would take more than a 45% increase to match the second-lowest funded province, Alberta. Increasing total university funding by of 13.5% per year for five years would bring per capita funding in Ontario to the national average.

Further, at a minimum, announced cuts to OSAP grants will have paid for 43% of announced university funding increases—and possibly more. These changes exacerbate the affordability crisis. This is the opposite approach to OCUFA’s longstanding call for student loans to be converted into grants, and risk putting a university education out of reach for many students.

OCUFA made a submission to the review committee earlier this winter and published a statement with allies across the postsecondary sector following the announcement, urging the government to immediately embark on a path to meet the Canadian average in per-domestic student funding while protecting students from escalating student debt.

Read the briefing note: < https://ocufa.sharepoint.com/Website%20Folders/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2FWebsite%20Folders%2FBriefs%20and%20Submissions%2F2026%2E02%2E13%2DNewFundingAnnouncementBN%2Epdf&parent=%2FWebsite%20Folders%2FBriefs%20and%20Submissions&p=true&ga=1 >

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Record Demand from Ontario Students for Ontario University Education

The Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) has released new data on the number of applicants and applications made by Ontario secondary school students for 2026-27 university admission as of mid-January. The data shows that there is record demand from Ontario secondary school students for an Ontario university education.

More applications have been received as of January 16, 2026, than by the same time in 2025. Most program areas have seen increased applications, including health programs, Science, Engineering, Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Psychology. The previous two years saw more applications and registrations than were seen in the double cohort of 2003, when the final grade

13 students and graduating grade 12 students arrived at university at the same time.

Record application numbers alongside funded student caps and Canada’s lowest per-domestic student funding suggest that Ontario’s universities are ill[1]equipped to meet the record demand from Ontario secondary school students for a university education. Additional investments are urgently needed for universities to adequately meet this demand.

Read OCUFA’s Briefing Note:  < https://ocufa.sharepoint.com/Website%20Folders/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2FWebsite%20Folders%2FBriefs%20and%20Submissions%2F2026%2E02%2E04%2DJanuaryApplicationsBN%2Epdf&parent=%2FWebsite%20Folders%2FBriefs%20and%20Submissions&p=true&ga=1 >

https://ocufa.sharepoint.com/Website%20Folders/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2FWebsite%20Folders%2FOCUFA%20Report%2F2026%2F2026%2E02%2E26%2E%20Vol%2020%20%232%2Epdf&parent=%2FWebsite%20Folders%2FOCUFA%20Report%2F2026&p=true&ga=1

Tags: budget, Education, jurisdiction, participation, youth

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