Most universities in Nova Scotia are projecting significant budget deficits for 2025-26, primarily due to a drastic decline in international student enrollment following federal caps, coupled with stagnating provincial funding and tuition freezes. This financial strain is prompting planned cuts, program reviews, and tuition increases for out-of-province and international students.
Most of Nova Scotia's universities are in the red. Here's why, and what's next
CanadaNova ScotiaCape Breton UniversityDalhousie UniversityMount Saint Vincent UniversityUniversity of King's CollegeEducation costsStudentsInternational studentsTeaching
AI Summary
TL;DR: Key points with love ❤️Most universities in Nova Scotia are projecting significant budget deficits for 2025-26, primarily due to a drastic decline in international student enrollment following federal caps, coupled with stagnating provincial funding and tuition freezes. This financial strain is prompting planned cuts, program reviews, and tuition increases for out-of-province and international students.
Trending- 1 2012-2023: Provincial government funding percentage for universities across Canada dropped from approximately 55% to 40%.
- 2 2023-24: Cape Breton University had 6,974 international students.
- 3 January 2024: Federal government announced a cap on international student permits.
- 4 September (2024): Ottawa further reduced international student intake by 10%, including graduate students.
- 5 Last year (2024-25): Nova Scotia universities collectively lost over 14% (more than 2,000) international students.
- 6 July 1 (2025): A new collective agreement with faculty was reached at the Atlantic School of Theology.
- 7 2025-26: All large Nova Scotia universities are planning to run a deficit, with international enrolment projected to continue dropping.
- Universities planning across-the-board cuts to departments
- Axing programs
- Reconsidering real estate footprint
- Tapping into special reserves of funding
- Not renewing contract staff
- Considering retirement incentives
- Increasing tuition for out-of-province and international students
- Damage to Canada's brand internationally as a welcoming country for students
- Potential for some universities to become financially unviable in the short term
What: Most universities in Nova Scotia are planning to run deficits in the 2025-26 academic year.
When: Deficits projected for 2025-26. Federal cap announced January 2024, further reduced September (implied 2024).
Where: Nova Scotia, Canada.
Why: Plummeting international enrolment (due to federal caps and a perceived unwelcoming environment for international students), stagnating provincial funding (not keeping pace with inflation), government-mandated tuition freezes for some students, and contractual increases to expenses, including labor costs.
How: Universities heavily relied on international student tuition to compensate for reduced provincial funding. Federal government caps on international student permits in 2024 drastically reduced this revenue stream, leading to financial shortfalls.