St. Clair College is welcoming a funding boost from the Ontario government.
On Thursday, the province announced a $6.4-billion investment over 4-years while also cutting back on the amount of student assistance grants, relying more heavily on loans.
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 will also be able to raise tuition fees by up to two per cent per year for the next three-years. After that, tuition increases will be limited to either two per cent or the average inflation rate, whichever is lower.
The additional funding from the Ontario government 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.
St. Clair College President Michael Silvaggi told AM800's The Shift, they aren't sure how much more money they'll receive from the province. "Based on your program mix, that will be a determinate as to whether your funding value goes up or down so program enrolment and various programs can have an implication it's not a flat amount if you have 8,000 students then your grant number is going to be equal to this, the program mix does matter."
Silvaggi went on to say the college can now start raising tuition rates. "I think the simplistic formula will be a 2% increase on an annual basis is what that will look like for all programs. The timing of the announcement does align with planning for 2026-27."
He added the funding announcement will not reverse a decision to pause 21 programs this fall. "If you recall, the rational for those program pauses was first and foremost student demand and when student demand is not there, certainly we always consider community need but when those are absent it does made things more difficult to run our programs."
2025 fall enrolment at St. Clair College was down 23 per cent, with a nearly 3,000-student decline in international enrolment.
The three newly suspended programs for 2026-27 include paramedic at the Chatham campus, greenhouse technician, and horticulture landscaping. Previous programs that were put on pause include power engineering, fashion design, journalism, and general business.
Last May, the board of directors at St. Clair passed the 2025-26 budget, with a deficit of $6.5 million but there was still $75-million in reserves.
In a statement, the University of Windsor says it also welcomes the news. President J.J. McMurtry says the new measures represent a commitment to stabilizing Ontario's post-secondary sector and strengthening the province's future through talent and career development.
--With files from AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides