Steep declines in international student enrolment at London-based Fanshawe College will result in eight-figure deficits and big job cuts, its top official said Monday.
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In a video to staff and faculty, Fanshawe president Peter Devlin said the college expects a $35-million deficit this year, followed by a whopping $60 million deficit in 2026 due to the federal government’s decision to cap international student enrolment.
“Our financial challenges are significant and will ultimately impact our workforce, which is anticipated to occur in phases as we manage changes resulting from the decline in international enrolment,” Devlin said. “When that happens our human resources team will work with department and union leaders to assist staff through transitions.”
Fanshawe has a budget this year of roughly $530 million. Next year, it’s set to be $371 million.
Devlin said enrolment of first-year international students dropped 41 per cent from the winter semester of 2024. He predicts enrolment will plunge to 45 per cent fewer students in the college’s upcoming semester and predicts steep declines thereafter.
International students, who pay three to five times more in tuition fees than Canadians, are a lucrative source of revenue for colleges and universities.
Last week Fanshawe announced it was chopping 18 winter semester programs after the federal government slashed its international student study permits.
The college, with campuses in London, Woodstock, St. Thomas, Simcoe and Huron and Bruce counties, is conducting a review to identify which programs qualify for post-graduate work permits under new guidelines.
Mark Feltman, president of Fanshawe College’s faculty union, said he is “very concerned” about the projected deficits.
“We will be working very hard, as always, to ensure that our members’ rights are protected during this challenging period,” he said.
Feltman also called on the province “to fix this problem” with more funding.
The union and the support staff union jointly signed a letter with Devlin in 2024 urging Queen’s Park to help. Devlin said that because Ontario colleges receive the poorest funding in the country “they cannot generate profits.”
Siddharth Singh is president of the Fanshawe Student Union. He is calling on Queen’s Park to properly fund Ontario colleges, saying that failing to do so would put more of Ontario’s already scant skilled workforce at risk.
Just over a week ago, Toronto’s Centennial College, one of Ontario’s largest, announced it will not take new students in 49 full-time business, media, engineering and other programs in the 2025-26 academic year.
Other Ontario colleges announcing program cuts in recent months include Ottawa’s Algonquin, Kingston’s St. Lawrence, Hamilton’s Mohawk, Oakville’s Sheridan and Toronto’s Seneca Polytechnic.
FANSHAWE COLLEGE PROGRAM CUTS
- Public relations – corporate communications
- Baking and pastry arts management
- Event planning (co-op)
- Automotive service management
- Automotive sales
- Business (co-op)
- Applied mechanical design
- Food processing – product development
- Child and youth care
- Biotechnology (co-op)
- Personal support worker
- Graphic design (co-op)
- Research and evaluation
- Office administration – executive (Woodstock)
- Addiction and mental health
- Technical data analytics
- Professional accounting
- Construction project management (St. Thomas)
HOW WE GOT HERE
2022: A report released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. predicts Canada needs 3.5 million new homes by 2030 to make housing more affordable. International university and college students became a flashpoint in Canada’s national housing crisis.
August 2023: Housing Minister Sean Fraser says the federal government is considering a cap on international students to ease pressure on the housing market.
September 2023: International students who can’t find housing in North Bay stage a sit-in protesting their predicament.
January 2024: Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller announces a 35 per cent reduction in the number of study permits in the fall, with the total cap divided between provinces.
October 2024: Miller announces a further reduction in international student study permits for 2025 to 437,000 from 485,000. He also updates the post-graduation work permit program to better align with labour market needs and immigration goals.