HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government has presented funding proposals to the province’s 10 universities, giving them until the following week to agree, according to an official from the Department of Advanced Education.
Nevertheless, Deputy Minister Tracey Barbrick refrained from informing journalists on Wednesday about the inclusion of a tuition cap within the agreements for the fiscal year 2025-26, noting that these caps remain under discussion with universities.
When questioned about whether the 2% limit on annual tuition hikes for undergraduates, set last year, would have to be raised to assist institutions in generating more funds, Barbrick remained non-committal. Additionally, the previous year, the government mandated that the majority of educational institutions increase their fees for international students by at least 9%.
They definitely face significant challenges when examining their budget constraints," she stated. "Therefore, our role is to keep monitoring and interacting with them to ensure viability.
Barbrick stated that a compromise must be reached between covering operational expenses and ensuring university affordability for the majority of students.
On Wednesday, the deputy minister informed the legislature’s public accounts committee that one of the complexities regarding additional funding is the reduced count of international students studying in the region. According to officials, out of approximately 20,000 foreign students qualified under federal guidelines to pursue studies in Nova Scotia last year, only around 6,000 enrolled.
We're not reaching that federal limit…because Canada’s reputation regarding immigration has taken a hit," explained Barbrick, adding that the province still needs to put more effort into promoting itself as a "center for universities.
"It gives us an edge knowing that within Halifax itself, there isn’t anything you can’t study in this town," she stated.
Barbrick faced the committee to address a report issued last month by Auditor General Kim Adair, which criticized the government for failing to adequately monitor the billions of dollars allocated to universities over the past half-decade. Additionally, Adair advocated for an update to the quarter-century-old funding model used for operational grants.
Authorities informed the committee that institutions of higher learning must now generate quarterly updates focused on their advancement regarding six fiscal benchmarks. These markers aim to assist the province in evaluating the universities' overall financial condition. The newly established criteria take into account factors like operational cash movements, capacity for repaying debts, and variations between projected and actual end-of-year balances.
Barbrick mentioned that the government plans to revise the funding formula within the next year. However, she noted that this presents a complicated task as they must consider various operational and economic factors.
"It’s possible that such a formula could result in both winners and losers," she stated.
However, NDP committee member Paul Wozney informed journalists that he does not find that argument convincing.
"If each university and every program they provide holds significance, then it's essential to outline clear funding strategies over the coming decade or so to ensure these institutions can keep functioning," he stated.
Barbrick stated that all of the province's universities fulfilled the conditions set for their funding last year and were granted complete allocations by the provincial government. She informed journalists that, in the short term, all these educational institutions remain financially stable.
"We will need to examine all of these over the long term as we begin to utilize those shared financial metrics," Barbrick stated.
The report from The Canadian Press was initially released on April 9, 2025.
Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press