The March 22 Ontario budget provides $210 million to universities to alleviate immediate cost pressures. These funds are one-time and come from Ontario’s $390 million portion of the Postsecondary Education Infrastructure Trust announced in the 2006 federal budget.

The province’s 2005 Reaching Higher plan provided substantial new funding for universities. Recently, however, the demand for university education has outstripped those funding plans. Enrolments at Ontario’s universities this year, for example, were 14,000 students over the Reaching Higher projections. Ian Clark, President of the Council of Ontario Universities, noted, “Multi-year funds need to be added to deliver the quality results envisaged in the 2005 Reaching Higher plan.”

Ross Paul, Chair of the Council and President of the University of Windsor, said, “The province rightly pushed hard for fiscal rebalancing in order to address postsecondary, health and social funding inequities. We congratulate the Premier on his success in bringing several hundred million dollars per year back to Ontario starting in 2008-09. Now we need to get the conditions right for Ontario to put those dollars to work in university and college classrooms.”

The Council of Ontario Universities affirms its commitment to work in partnership with the Government of Ontario as the government negotiates with Ottawa and other provinces concerning conditions on the new postsecondary education funds. “The government and universities have both been encouraged by this unprecedented demand for higher education,” said Dr. Paul. “We’ve hit a home run in access and participation. Now the new federal funds give us a chance to ensure that this success is matched by the vital quality improvements to which we are all committed.”

Underlining the critical importance of university research to Ontario, Dr. Paul also welcomed the budget’s commitments on research and innovation. Ontario universities provided input to the Ontario Innovation Strategy, which the government intends to release in the spring.

– 30 –

For further information, contact:

Jamie Mackay 
Vice-President, Policy and Analysis, COU
(416) 979-2165 ext. 209

Dr. Ross Paul
Council Chair and President, University of Windsor
(519) 253-3000 ext. 2000