Explainer: Why New Brunswick’s university funding freeze is reshaping post-secondary education
- Polina Kozlova
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
New Brunswick’s record deficit is prompting changes to post-secondary education as the province freezes funding to universities, colleges and directs institutions to find internal savings that won’t be passed on to students.
The 2026-27 provincial budget forecasts a $1.3 billion deficit, mainly due to increased health care and social services spending. The government is freezing operating grants to post-secondary institutions at $307.8 million, which amounts to a funding reduction after accounting for inflation.
Post-secondary Education Minister Jean-Claude D’Amours said universities and colleges need to take more responsibility for managing costs by reviewing their programs.
"Everyone needs to look at themselves in the mirror and this is exactly what I asked the colleges and universities to do," said D’Amours.
He said the review should include identifying programs with low enrolment and evaluating whether they meet provincial workforce needs.
"When you have two, three, four, five students in a program, we need to realize at some point ... is it really what we need?" he said.
D’Amours said that decisions about potential cuts should come from the institutions themselves, not the province.
"It’s not for me to decide, it’s for them to do the evaluation and ongoing verification," he said.
The funding freeze comes as overall provincial spending on post-secondary education rises, but not in ways that will benefit university operating budgets.
The Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour will spend about $779.6 million in 2026-27, with roughly $554.9 million relating to post-secondary education programs.
That funding includes student financial assistance and administrative costs, but not increases to institutional grants. About $58.9 million is earmarked for student financial assistance and more than $36 million for post-secondary relations.
While those figures represent continued investment, they do not mean increased core funding for universities and colleges. With inflation projected at about two per cent, institutions are expected to absorb rising costs with no extra support.
D’Amours said the government’s goal is to ensure financial pressures do not fall on students.
"We are making sure that the burden is not going on the students of this province," he said. "It’s not because we are facing challenges that automatically the burden needs to go to the students."
Even without direct cuts, the funding freeze is expected to create pressure at the institutional level. Universities and colleges facing higher operating costs may need to reduce programs, limit hiring or cut services to balance budgets.
In his article, "How Program Closure Decisions Get Made," Alex Usher, president of Higher Education Strategy Associates, argues that program cuts are rarely based solely on enrolment.
“Low enrolment usually means low revenue,” Usher writes, “but costs enter the picture too.”
He explains that determining whether a program is financially viable is complex. This involves how institutions calculate costs such as salaries, facilities and overhead, as well as how they assign revenue from tuition and government funding.
Programs with small enrolment may still survive if they attract students from outside the major, international students, or if they contribute to an institution’s reputation.
Usher also notes that programs can be protected if they offer prestige or strong community value, while those with less influence or support may be more vulnerable.
Humanities programs, in particular, often face greater risk due to declining enrolment and lower perceived economic return.
Across Canada, similar financial pressures are already leading to cuts. Universities have reported layoffs, program suspensions and hiring freezes as they deal with rising costs and uncertain funding, with some institutions describing the situation as financially unsustainable.
At the same time, enrolment in some arts and humanities fields has declined significantly over the past decades, raising concerns about their long-term stability.
For students at St. Thomas University, the impact may not be immediate but could become more visible over time. Programs with small enrolments, often in the arts and humanities, may face greater scrutiny as institutions align their offerings with labour-market demand.
The funding freeze reflects broader fiscal pressures as the province prioritizes spending on health care.
While there are no direct cuts to university funding, the combination of a large deficit and stagnant operating grants signals a period of financial constraint for post-secondary institutions.
How universities respond will determine how students feel those pressures, whether through changes to programs, services or campus resources.
Comments