Postsecondary education welcomes new government
Universities will be critical to economic growth, say leaders.
The Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Mark Carney secured a fourth term in Monday’s election, bringing clarity to leaders in the postsecondary sector looking to chart a productive path forward with the new government.
While higher education remained a backseat issue in an election dominated by the ongoing trade war imposed by U.S. president Donald Trump and the dual crises of housing and affordability, the Liberals have made promises with significant impact for universities
Chief among them is a $10 billion investment in building new homes, with $2 billion dedicated to student and senior housing. The new government further promises to invest in attracting leading researchers to Canadian institutions and to create a capstone organization for federal research funding to enable mission-driven research.
Gabriel Miller, president and CEO of Universities Canada (publisher of University Affairs) said his organization is eager to work with the new government to ensure it delivers on its commitments. Investments in student housing and strengthening Canada’s research ecosystem are welcome news, but he said the leading priority for the university sector is the urgent need to fix Canada’s immigration system.
“It’s crucial that we sit down quickly with this government and restore confidence in Canada’s immigration system, because right now we’re losing people we’re going to desperately need to drive the economy,” said Mr. Miller.
Universities Canada, which represents 97 Canadian universities, will also be working to ensure ongoing promises by the previous Liberal government under Justin Trudeau are fulfilled. Central to those promises is a major injection of $1.8 billion in federal research grants of which 12 per cent has been disbursed since it was first announced in 2024.
Chad Gaffield, executive director of the U15, said that Canada’s leading research universities are ready to partner with the new government and that the prime minister’s election “comes at a time of real urgency to strengthen Canada as a resilient, secure and sovereign country.”
For many in the academic community, the new government has brought a sense of relief. Glen Jones, a professor of higher education at the University of Toronto, noted that the Conservative Party, which will remain as official opposition to a minority Liberal government, had been causing concerns with its rhetoric around “woke ideology” which could have implications for equity, diversity and inclusion policies and programs.
“But more importantly, there were references to monitoring research activities and perhaps getting involved in interventions that would have direct implications for the autonomy of institutions and for academic freedom,” said Dr. Jones. “So I think there’s a sigh of relief about that policy platform and where it was going in terms of moving forward.”
Linking postsecondary education to economic growth
Postsecondary leaders communicated a sense of urgency to get to work with the new government as well as the importance of continuing conversations with policymakers from across the political spectrum.
“We look forward to collaborating with the new government and with members from all parties to continue advancing education, research and innovation as pillars of Canada’s prosperity and leadership,” said Deep Saini, chair of Universities Canada and president and vice-chancellor of McGill University.
The election of the Liberal Party comes at an uncertain time for Canada and the global economy. Prime Minister Carney intends to eliminate trade barriers between the provinces and territories and build the “fastest growing economy in the G7,” among other ambitions. Postsecondary leaders say universities will be fundamental to driving that growth, and recognize they will need to move quickly to communicate to policymakers and the public how they can contribute to the Canadian economy.
“It’s a critical time for us to show just how much we’re going to contribute to helping the country weather this storm and thrive in the long run,” said Mr. Miller.
International education remains most pressing issue
Prime Minister Carney has said he will maintain immigration levels, including caps imposed on international student visas first imposed by the Trudeau administration in January 2024. The policy change took the postsecondary sector by surprise leading to declining enrolment and severely reducing a major source of tuition revenue for universities.
“At this point, the universities and colleges are far below the caps. In other words, there’s something about the brand of international education in Canada that has been negatively impacted by those 2024 decisions – and that’s bad for everyone,” said Dr. Jones.
Prime Minister Carney has promised to invest $100 million over four years to attract leading researchers who have had their funding cut by the U.S. government. But Mr. Miller says more needs to be done – and soon.
“The single area we have to make the most rapid changes in is our system for welcoming international researchers and students, which is too slow, too bureaucratic and simply not good enough to compete internationally,” he said.
Prioritizing research and innovation
Besides the incoming government’s promise of a $46 million investment into Canada’s AI institutions, research and innovation barely factored into the election. “We’re going through some sort of major economic transition, and research and innovation need to be in that same conversation,” said Dr. Jones.
According to the OECD, Canada ranks the highest in public research and development investment but among the lowest in innovation outcomes such as technology adoption and, importantly, productivity growth – which is how countries raise citizens’ standards of living.
Postsecondary leaders are pushing for a a more holistic conversation surrounding research and innovation.
“It really starts by sitting down with everybody, with entrepreneurs, with Canadian businesses, with government, with universities, and asking ourselves how we make sure the benefits of our research to Canadians are maximized and amplified,” said Mr. Miller.
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1 Comments
“According to the OECD, Canada ranks the highest in public research and development investment but among the lowest in innovation outcomes such as technology adoption and, importantly, productivity growth” … that speaks to the choices made when research funds are allocated. There are, frankly, some fields that while adding to the human experience have little to no effect on economic productivity. Again, it’s a choice.