Invest in people, Canada’s best resource

Acknowledging the essential role of public post-secondary education in creating individual, regional and national prosperity, work with the provinces and territories to develop and fund a plan to address the urgent need for predictable, stable funding to enhance access, affordability and quality.

Carry through on the election promise to increase support for apprenticeships to $8,000 and increase the maximum Canada Student Grant to $7,000 to improve affordability.

Deliver an ambitious research agenda to make Canada a global science and innovation leader that supports and grows Canada’s world-class research talent.

Invest in Indigenous education and honour inherent and Treaty rights by closing the educational attainment gap and Indigenizing education.

The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) is the national voice of academic and professional staff. CAUT represents more than 75,000 teachers, librarians, researchers, general staff, and other professionals at 130 post-secondary institutions across the country. CAUT works actively in the public interest to improve the quality and accessibility of post-secondary education in Canada.

Education fuels employment, innovation, and job creation. It helps protect our sovereignty as an educated and innovative nation is stronger, more secure, and more independent. Education is also essential to improving public health, tackling environmental and social challenges, and enriching our cultural life. As our country faces economic uncertainty, our highly educated workforce and our strong post-secondary education system offer opportunities for stability and to further build and protect our nation. If we want to grow, attract, and retain talent to meet the demands of the current and future economy, then post-secondary education must be treated as core infrastructure—just like housing, transit, or energy.

This past year has seen incredible financial strain on our colleges and universities, including job losses of over 12,000. Additionally, hundreds of programs have been cancelled or suspended, and regional campuses closed. While some of this financial strain is exacerbated by the international student cap, the issues are deeper, more systemic and can be traced to years of insufficient public funding.

Unlike other areas of shared priority supported by federal transfers such as health care, childcare, housing, or public transit, there is no framework, plan, or strategy for post-secondary education in Canada. The last federal base increase to the transfer that supports post-secondary education took place in 2008.

Increased domestic demand for post-secondary education is expected in the next decade, from growth in youth as well as adult reskilling and upskilling. A federal-provincial agreement to stabilize public post-secondary education is urgently needed.

The need to strengthen and stabilize Canada’s post-secondary education system has never been more urgent. Following decades of systemic underfunding, the unilateral and rapid federal changes to Canada’s international education strategy made through changes by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada have had an unprecedented and destabilizing impact on an already fragile system.

Institutions have lost tuition revenue almost overnight, leading to the cancellation and suspension of hundreds of academic programs, permanent campus closures, and over 12,000 job losses—all within a single year. These cuts are affecting not only students and faculty, but entire communities—especially in rural and economically marginalized regions where colleges and universities serve as key economic and social anchors.

Post-secondary education, like housing, transit, and energy, must be seen as core infrastructure. Colleges, universities, and polytechnics are critical to economic resiliency, social cohesion, and regional development. The federal government must act now, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, to stabilize, modernize, and strengthen these essential public institutions.

Multilateral action, modelled on recent success with the Early Learning and Child Care Agreements, for example, would allow for the retention of teachers, researchers and students and position the country to meet the growing demand for youth education and workforce reskilling over the coming decade.

It is essential the federal government work with the provincial and territorial governments on a plan to ensure universities, colleges and polytechnics across the country receive the public investment they need. We recommend expediated efforts to engage the provinces and develop agreements with parameters that ensure robust, affordable, and quality public post-secondary education.

Affordability remains a top concern for Canadians, and the cost of post-secondary education contributes to the financial stress of students and their families. Half of post-secondary students – from both college and university – graduate with debt that averages $25,000 as they enter a job market that has a decades-high youth unemployment rate.

The federal government increased the maximum Canada Student Grant to $6,000 during the pandemic, Budget 2024 renewed the maximum grant at $4,200 for one year, and it has since been confirmed that this maximum will remain for the next year. However, beyond this year, students have been offered no commitment that the grant won’t return to the original $3,000 maximum set in 2016. Even at $4,200, this amount is below the average cost of one year of undergraduate tuition and leaves nothing left over to assist with the high costs of housing, food, transit and more. We recommend raising the maximum Canada Student Grant to $7,000.

The Liberal government’s promise to increase Apprenticeship Grant up to $8,000 is welcome. As the waitlist for seats is too long, investment with a plan for post-secondary education, is needed to ensure that the waitlist challenge is addressed.

Recent actions of the Trump administration to cut science and research funding underscore the strategic importance for Canada to continue and strengthen its investments.  Canada can fill gaps left by the American retreat and affirm its place in the global research ecosystem by stepping up support for scientists and research institutions.

The government must follow-through with its budget 2024 commitments to cultivate and support the next generation of Canadian researchers, while committing additional support for talent attraction and retention. It must also follow-through with legislation to enshrine the Chief Science Advisor position, ensuring its independence.

It should also deliver a national strategy for science, research and innovation, committing to the four “I” principles of a strong research ecosystem:

The legacy of colonialism and residential schools, and the ongoing racism and discrimination against Indigenous peoples in Canada, has contributed to a significant gap in post-secondary attainment between Indigenous students and non-Indigenous people. Even before recent fiscal pressures, allocations for programs like the Post-Secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP) were consistently inadequate to cover actual demand, with many eligible students left unfunded every year.

To address the financial and other barriers that First Nations, Inuit and Métis students experience in accessing education, and to fulfil the inherent and treaty right to education, the federal government should invest significantly in Indigenous post-secondary education. Funding must include significant increases to the Post-Secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP) to eliminate the backlog of support unfunded applicants, and to compensate for higher costs of education.

Funds should also be allocated to support Indigenous post-secondary institutions and community-based programming, taking a distinctions-based approach.

Indigenous education funding is not discretionary. Investments in Indigenous post-secondary education are directly linked to treaty and inherent rights, recognized in Canadian law and referenced in numerous government mandates. Cutting or freezing these funds undermines reconciliation efforts and violates commitments to address the legacy of colonialism and residential schools.

Canada’s strength depends on realizing the full potential of its greatest asset—its people. The recommendations outlined—developing a coordinated, stable funding framework with provinces and territories; improving affordability for students and apprentices; advancing Canada’s research leadership; and investing in Indigenous learners—reflect concrete steps to ensure that every Canadian can access affordable, high-quality education and training. Now is the time for the federal government, in partnership with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governments, to lead a renewal of our public post-secondary system. Such action will position Canada to meet the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing world and secure a brighter, more inclusive future for all. Investing in people is, and always will be, Canada’s best resource.