A message from Vivek Goel, President and Vice Chancellor
Earlier today, the Ontario government announced a significant multiyear investment in the postsecondary sector.
This landmark announcement includes an overall investment over four years to the university and college sector of $6.4 billion. Importantly, the government has announced an end to the freeze on tuition, capping increases at two per cent from 2026/27. Over the next four years, the announcement includes:
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increased funding for enrolment adding 70,000 seats for in-demand programs
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increased funding by changing the base program weights for high-priority programs, and
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six per cent increase in base funding for all students enrolled which replaces the sustainability funding which was set to expire next year.
This is a meaningful, welcome step forward for Ontario universities, including us here at Waterloo. I am grateful to the Government of Ontario for this important investment that strengthens our financial foundation and helps us to propel graduates to careers and outcomes that support Ontario’s economy.
We need to take some time to understand the details of today’s announcement, but it is clear that the announcement aligns with our strengths, including high-demand programs, experiential education, research commercialization, and our role in preparing talent for Ontario’s economy.
While today’s good news improves the broader funding environment, it does not mean an end to the financial pressures facing Waterloo. We continue to operate in a context of rising costs, enrolment shifts, and structural challenges that have built up over many years. The work underway through our budget sustainability initiatives remains essential and is expected of us by the government.
To help deliver on the important investment that Ontario is making in us, we must continue to make careful, strategic decisions about how we invest our resources. Our benchmarking data shows us that we must deliver on initiatives already underway designed to strengthen our longterm financial sustainability through our functional reviews and academic innovations.
Today’s announcement gives the sector a stronger foundation and we should take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate that progress. At the same time, our responsibility to steward Waterloo’s resources thoughtfully and sustainably remains unchanged.
Thank you for your continued commitment to the University of Waterloo and to supporting our students, research, and community.