The outcome of Monday’s federal election could shape the years ahead for postsecondary institutions in Canada. Elections Canada signage is seen at an advance polling location, in Toronto, on April 18.Laura Proctor/The Canadian Press
The Liberal election campaign has played up commitments to research spending, mid-career upskilling and artificial intelligence, while the Conservatives have focused on the trades, defending free speech at universities and addressing what they describe as a “woke” agenda in research funding.
The front-runners have outlined different visions for higher education ahead of Monday’s federal election, the outcome of which could shape the years ahead for postsecondary institutions in Canada.
The federal government plays an important role in two areas crucial to university and colleges: research funding and the issuing of study permits for international students.
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Both the Liberal and Conservative platforms indicate the two parties have no intention of allowing international student numbers to climb. The Conservatives say they would dramatically reduce the number of foreign students, without specifying by how much. The Liberals say they would limit temporary residents, which includes international students, to less than 5 per cent of the population (it was at 7.3 per cent on Jan. 1, according to Statistics Canada).
International students have become a vital funding source for postsecondary institutions. They spent an estimated $37.3-billion on tuition, accommodation and discretionary items in 2022, according to a government report.
But over the last 16 months, the federal government has reduced the number of permits it issues by more than 40 per cent, a response to what it described as pressure in the housing market and the health care system. That has led to financial stress for universities and colleges, many of which have announced hiring freezes and program pauses as they try to adjust.
Gabriel Miller, president of Universities Canada, said it should be a priority for a new government to address the damage done to the country’s brand as a global destination for talent.
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“There’s been so much confusion, so many changes, such severe consequences as a result of the roller-coaster ride our system has been on. We need to stabilize it,” Mr. Miller said. “At this point it isn’t really an argument about numbers. It’s not about how many, it’s about who. And we’re losing too many of the highly talented people that we need.”
Another multibillion-dollar question is what will happen with research funding. The federal government provides about $4.5-billion annually to support research through grants, scholarships and other means, about 80 per cent of which ends up at the 15 research-intensive universities, according to a 2024 House of Commons committee report.
In the 2024 budget, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government laid out a plan to provide an additional $1.8-billion over five years to the three federal research granting councils. But with more than 75 per cent of that increase slated to arrive after the election, it isn’t clear whether the money will materialize.
Mohammad Hussain, a Liberal campaign spokesman, said the party, if elected, will maintain its previous commitments to science and research.
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The Conservative campaign did not respond to written questions, but its platform, released Tuesday, doesn’t appear to indicate any cuts to research funding.
The party’s platform does promise to eliminate university degree requirements in some federal public service jobs. It also pledges to make the protection of free-expression rights at universities a requirement to receive federal funding.
And Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre mentioned in a speech last month in Quebec that he intends to put a stop to “woke” influence in federal support for research. The campaign did not reply to a request to clarify what that would mean.
Mr. Poilievre’s remarks drew the attention of the Canadian Association of University Teachers. CAUT executive director David Robinson said that it’s worrying that a Canadian political leader would try to interfere in the allocation of research funding.
“We’ve seen the impact of this political meddling south of the border, where the Trump administration has launched a full-scale assault on universities and the scientific community. This kind of American-style culture war has no place in Canada,” Mr. Robinson said in a statement.
The Conservatives and Liberals have both said they would make additional funds available for medical residency places. They’ve also pledged to boost funding for training in the trades, with the Conservatives promising to spend more on training carried out by unions.
Mark Carney’s Liberal platform pledges to create a new training and upskilling benefit of up to $15,000 for mid-career workers.
It also promises to create a capstone national research agency to co-ordinate priorities; a fund to attract researchers whose work has been disrupted in the U.S.; and a new agency to boost research in areas related to national defence. As well, it commits to expanding commercialization programs at Canada’s three artificial-intelligence institutes.
The NDP platform includes relatively few specifics related to universities and colleges, but campaign spokeswoman Nina Amrov said the party is committed to opening new medical residency spaces, training young workers through its home-building pledge and investing in research.