Lily PolenchukAnother year, another disappointing provincial budget. On February 27, the Government of Alberta released its 2025 budget. And for students at public post-secondary institutions (PSI) like the University of Alberta, it’s grim. The provincial government claims to be “meeting the challenge,” but they are failing to meet PSIs’ needs.
The province decided to keep operating grants, which are the main funding PSIs get from the province, the same as last year. That doesn’t sound so bad on the surface. But when considering that the U of A has faced $222 million in funding cuts since 2019, it starts to look really bad. While student associations across the province, including the U of A Students’ Union (UASU), have asked the government to restore operating grants to 2019 levels, that was evidently ignored.
On top of that demand not being met, there’s also inflation to consider. While it’s hurting students’ wallets, it also drives costs up for the U of A. And the provincial government hasn’t provided any increases to funding to account for that.
And to be clear, it’s students who are picking up the bill. Unsurprisingly, tuition has increased every year since the start of funding cuts. With the Board of Governors (BoG) set to vote on yet another increase on March 28, that trend will likely continue. While tuition has always accounted for a chunk of the U of A’s budget, it’s increasingly becoming a larger and larger chunk.
Yet, when The Gateway asked Nate Horner, minister of finance, if the government shared the concerns people have been raising about this, his answer sucked. He said that the government’s decision was to neither cut or increase funding and called this “balance.” Worse yet, he somehow thought that that showed the government’s support for PSIs.
The Gateway also asked him if there were factors that would make the government consider fully or partially restoring 2019 funding levels. Horner said a “better forecast would help.” But I have a hard time believing that’s the real issue here. The province is expected to end its 2024 budget with a surplus for the third budget in a row. Yet, in none of those budgets did the government give more operating grants to PSIs.
The government is, however, increasing funding for “publicly-funded independent academic institutions.” Those institutions’ grants will increase by $9 million in 2025–26, and another $17 million over the following two years.
It would seem to me that it’s not so much a matter of forecasts. Rather, it is a disregard for public PSIs and the students hurt by these decisions. Use of the Campus Food Bank (CFB) has risen by 600 per cent over the last five years. Students are reconsidering their studies. Others are living in precarious or unsafe housing because of cost-of-living pressures. How the province is so comfortable ignoring this is baffling to me.
It is true that the economy is looking bleak as United States (U.S) President Donald Trump’s tariff threats loom. But investing in PSIs is an investment in the future of this province. Students at the U of A are going to school to become the next lawyers, policy makers, educators, health care workers, and more. If the province continues to neglect its responsibility to students, it’s neglecting the future of this province.
This should be especially concerning now, as invaluable systems are struggling with no end in sight. Whether that’s health care or education, the problems in both sectors are clear. But you know what would help? More health care and education workers. And big surprise, they need degrees for this.
If the cost of post-secondary education keeps being pushed off onto students, it’s going to drive them elsewhere for their education. And when they graduate, they might not come back to Alberta.
And unfortunately, financial support for students is getting a cut this year. Budget 2025 allocates only $990 million to student loans, compared to last year’s $1.2 billion. This comes after Alberta Student Aid (ASA) said it received a record number of applications for financial aid. ASA struggled to keep up with the demand, with many students facing delays in receiving their financial aid. As costs of post-secondary education continue to rise, more students are going to be fighting for less financial aid.
However, it’s not just the budget and Horner’s comments that are disappointing. The U of A’s official response to Budget 2025 largely celebrated what it sees as a win for the institution, with little recognition for the struggles its students are facing.
While operating grants remained the same and financial aid funding was cut, the province did allocate funding for a capital project. The U of A will receive $100 million over three years for renovating the Biological Sciences building. It’s worth noting that this was only one of six projects the U of A is requesting government funding for. Additionally, this only covers a fraction of the cost — the entire renovation is expected to cost $500 million. Sure, that saves the university $100 million, but that’s not any good news for students. Students are still going to help pay the other $400 million.
And while the U of A’s official response recognized the flat operating grant, it claimed to still be committed to SHAPE. A key part of SHAPE is increasing enrolment to 60,000 students by 2033. That will bring in more tuition revenue for the U of A, but that also demands costs. Whether that’s more instructors or updating classrooms and buildings to accommodate more students. The $500 million Biological Sciences building renovation will only be the tip of the iceberg.
Additionally, part of the hope with increasing enrolment by so much was that the province would provide more funding for enrolment growth. Budget 2025 squashes those hopes. There was no increase to enrolment growth funding, despite enrolment at the U of A actively growing.
Yet again, the U of A is far more concerned about SHAPE than its current students. It made no effort to recognize the financial stresses students are facing by having to foot the university’s bill. Nor did it make any mention of the decrease in funding for student loans. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the U of A could care less about their students.
The provincial budget spells out a bleak future for students. And it looks like the U of A isn’t going to be there to help them. It’s about time both the provincial government and the U of A start recognizing students’ struggles and taking measures to actually support them.
