TIMMINS, ON:  In January 2024, the Federal Government introduced changes to international student study permit eligibility and post graduate work permit eligibility.

The impact of these changes had an immediate impact on Northern College’s international student enrolment. As a result, the College is projecting an operational deficit of 6 million dollars in its 2025-26 academic year and 12 million dollars in its 2026-27 academic year.

To address these projected deficits, and ensure Northern’s ongoing viability, the College will be required to reduce expenses, increase operational efficiencies and reduce staffing levels. Without making these tough staffing and operational adjustments, the future of the College is at risk.

“We have worked diligently to develop solutions to this concerning issue, exploring all alternatives that put our staff first,” stated Mitch Dumas, President & CEO of Northern College. “Unfortunately, due to the combination of existing funding models, reduced international recruitment numbers and growing costs due to inflation, Northern has had to make the difficult decision to reduce its existing staffing compliment.”

Since May of 2024, Northern has worked to develop early retirement incentives and voluntary exit incentive packages to enable employees to respectfully exit on their own terms. These packages were designed to offer employees the opportunity to make the decision for themselves, and to grant them the time and financial stability to move on to a new chapter successfully. In addition to these incentive packages, the College will also be issuing layoff notices as required.

Northern College is dedicated to developing new revenue streams to ensure that the Institution can operate well into the future and continue to play a significant role in the socio-economic landscape of Ontario’s Northeast.

“This isn’t the first time in our institutional history that we’ve faced an uncertain future, or endured financially difficult times, and we’ll weather this as we’ve done before,” stated Dumas. “I would like to say that this was an incredibly difficult decision for us to make.”

“Decisions made at a federal level have a direct impact on our communities, our ability to support our employees and fundamentally to provide our students with the best quality education in what we feel is a fantastic place to start a career,” added Dumas.

Northern College, alongside other institutions in the Ontario College system, continue to lobby federal, provincial and municipal governments for policy adjustments that support the integrity of community Colleges like Northern and their ability to provide opportunities for those seeking a brighter future.

 

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About Northern College of Applied Arts & Technology

 

Established in 1967, Northern College leads the province in Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). It holds the top ranking in the graduate employment rate category in the province of Ontario. It has the highest employer satisfaction score for Northern College alums compared to all English-speaking Colleges in Ontario (2023). The College has four main campuses in Haileybury, Kirkland Lake, Moosonee and Timmins, and many Access Centres, providing post-secondary education and academic upgrading to Indigenous learners in remote communities along the James Bay coast. Northern College is a highly respected community and regional partner with nearly 50,000 graduates, including the Haileybury School of Mines (est. 1912); the College is critical in the region’s economic development and global mining influence. Northern College serves the educational needs of post-secondary, apprenticeship, and contract training, both on-site and through remote learning, as well as delivering academic upgrading and employment services. Its catchment area covers 160,000 square kilometres, roughly the size of France, and includes over 65 communities – 18 First Nations.

 

 

 
Media Contact:

Kyle Gennings (He/Him)
Communications & Government Relations Officer
Marketing, Communications and External Relations
P. 705-288-1101