Doug Ford Hits Canadian Students Where It Hurts, Claims It’s For Their Own Good
On June 24, 2019, Angus Reid, a prominent Canadian pollster, released a report highlighting Canadians’ lack of trust in their political leaders. The findings were surprisingly harsh for politicians: nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents said they could not be trusted. In contrast, only one-third (32%) believed that politicians were primarily motivated by a genuine desire to serve their communities, rather than seeking personal gain. The recent provincial cutbacks to student grants illustrate this sentiment.
Backstory: On February 12, 2026, Premier Doug Ford announced that his government would cut back on student grants to “address financial pressures in the post-secondary sector.” This decision followed the end of a seven-year tuition freeze for public colleges and universities, allowing them to raise tuition by up to 2% per year for the next three years. After this period, tuition increases will be capped at either 2% or the average inflation rate, whichever is lower. In conjunction with these changes, the maximum grant support was reduced from 85% to 25%, while the share of loans increased to 75%.
What Do These Changes Mean in Simple Terms?
The reduction in grants means that local Canadian students will receive significantly less financial support from the province for their education. Consequently, students are likely to incur more debt. The changes include reducing the maximum Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) grant from 85% to 25% and increasing reliance on interest-bearing loans from financial institutions to fund their studies.
On February 17, 2026, Ford, speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park, defended the cuts, claiming they were designed ‘actually to help the students.’ He suggested that these measures would encourage students to choose courses that lead to in-demand jobs, rather than what he termed “basket-weaving courses.”
“You’re picking basket-weaving courses, and there aren’t too many baskets being sold out there,” Mr. Ford remarked, failing to specify which institutions were allegedly wasting taxpayer funds by offering such courses.
Amidst this rhetoric, there is no mention of why these cuts were deemed necessary. Could the fiscal tightening be a result of the recent expulsion of international students? It wouldn’t be surprising if it were. For instance, in 2022, this group contributed $37.3 billion to the Canadian economy. This spending supported approximately 361,230 jobs and contributed about 1.2% to Canada’s GDP. Ontario alone accounted for 54.6% of this GDP impact, with a substantial contribution from long-term students. That’s not a small number, whichever way you slice and dice it.
In response to Ford’s announcement, Omar Nusir, a second-year medical sciences student at Western University, called the comments “shocking.”
“In-demand fields are often more expensive,” Nusir pointed out. He aspires to attend medical school, where tuition can exceed $20,000 a year.
“If I follow Doug Ford’s advice to choose in-demand fields, I will actually incur even more debt,” he said.
Coming from a low-income family in the Middle East, Nusir explained that his grants were previously higher than his OSAP loans because he was classified as a low-income student. Now, with the cuts to OSAP, he fears he may not be able to afford medical school, which he hopes to enter in his fourth year of university.
Well done, Premier Ford!
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