On February 12th, 2026, Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence
and Security announced $6.4 Billion in new funding over four years for the post-secondary
education sector. While this investment is welcome, the government paired it with deeply
concerning changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).
As the unions representing workers and students at Trent University, we will always support
investments that strengthen the long-term sustainability of public post-secondary
education. However, Ontario’s decision to shift OSAP toward a predominantly loans-based
model threatens the well-being of students and the stability of institutions across the
province.
Students are already facing unsustainable levels of unemployment, housing insecurity, and
rising food costs. At a time when life is becoming harder for young people, making
post-secondary education less affordable—not more—moves Ontario in the wrong
direction.
Presently, the most vulnerable OSAP-eligible students can receive up to 85% of provincial
support as grants. Grants are non-repayable and can make according post-secondary less
daunting for students from lower-income households who rely on OSAP. Beginning this Fall,
at least 75% of provincial support through OSAP will be structured as a repayable loan.
According to Higher Education consultant, Alex Usher, an OSAP-supported undergraduate
student under the changed OSAP model could accrue an additional $14,000 in debt while
pursuing their degree. This kind of debt burden will push students further toward the brink
and lead more to outright reject post-secondary education as a viable foundation upon
which to build their future. Moreover, financial precarity does not produce a stable learning
environment. Ratcheting up the financial burden on Ontario’s most vulnerable students will
negatively impact retention rates and increase barriers to degree completion.
For Trent University, this could mean big problems on the horizon. Just a 2% dip in
enrolments would negate the financial benefits of a 2026-2027 tuition increase, and an
enrolment decline of 6% would offset most, if not all, the gains to additional base per-
student funding promised in the Province’s infusion.
Ontario’s economic future relies on a healthy and vibrant post-secondary education sector.
Like all post-secondary institutions, Trent University has an important role to play—not just
in advancing research and collaborating with young thinkers to solve the challenges of
tomorrow; but in creating a highly-skilled workforce that will keep our economy competitive
amidst unprecedented global market instability.
Ontarians cannot afford to make post-secondary a luxury. To maximize the benefits of
higher education to our province, public post-secondary must be widely accessible and
deeply affordable. It is incumbent on our decision-makers to reduce barriers to education. They can start by not getting in their own way. Making OSAP more costly for those in need will drive
prospective students away from a richer future, and harm the very institutions that the
province has promised to help.
The Government made a good economic choice to support Ontario’s universities and colleges; they should not undo it with this financial sleight of hand.
