Seven Private Career Colleges Received $385 Million in OSAP Grants

Data obtained by The Canadian Press through freedom-of-information requests shows that just seven private career colleges in Ontario received approximately $385 million in provincial OSAP grants for the 2024-25 year. This total equals the amount of grants provided to all of Ontario's publicly funded colleges that year and exceeds the total given to all Ontario university students, according to reporting from CBC Toronto and Global News.

While there are roughly 170 career colleges in the province, a small subset saw rapid growth in recipients. For example, Global News reports that the Bay Street location of the Academy of Learning grew from 996 OSAP students in 2021-22 to 7,435 in 2024-25, with grants for those students exceeding $108 million. The Academy of Learning's Brampton East location saw growth of over 1,300%, increasing from 289 students to 4,260 in the same period.

In response to what the province termed "unsustainable" costs, Premier Doug Ford's government cut grants for university and public college students and barred career college students from accessing grants. Additionally, the ministry disqualified students at five career colleges from OSAP for the upcoming year. Court filings from three of those schools indicate the province alleged "compromised participation" in asynchronous online learning programs.

Dayna Smockum, director of communications for Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn, stated the province will introduce legislative measures this fall to "curb out-of-control growth" and strengthen accountability. Taylor Buck, spokesperson for Career Colleges Ontario, noted the association has raised concerns regarding a small number of institutions with "atypically large increases" in applications that cannot be justified.