Government funding to add 1,100 seats in high-demand programs

As part of Budget 2026, the Government of Alberta is providing post-secondary institutions with $148 million over three years to expand enrolment in high-demand programs. The University of Alberta will receive $25 million to add more than 1,100 domestic seats in select programs.

The targeted programs include health care, engineering, education, and science. Funding will also target the health-care aide program and the early childhood education diploma at Campus Saint-Jean.

At a press conference on September 11, Minister of Advanced Education Myles McDougall said, “this represents the largest targeted enrolment expansion investment in Alberta’s history.”

He said the programs the funding targets will help meet labour demands in the Alberta economy.

“These are the skilled professionals Alberta’s growing communities need, and these investments will help ensure more Albertans can train for rewarding careers close to home,” McDougall said. 

Brad Ferguson, the chair of the U of A Board of Governors, said that “without this investment, [prospective students] might have been told that there just wasn’t room here at the [U of A].”

He added that that matters not only for the U of A, but also for the Alberta economy.

“When a qualified student can’t find a seat, the Alberta economy suffers,” he added.

He said, “on behalf of the board of governors, though, I’d like to make a commitment today. We know this is public money, and we take that responsibility seriously. We will put these dollars to work carefully, support the students through to graduation, and show Albertans the results.”

Radio Canada asked Ferguson if the U of A plans to hire more instructors to support the new seats.

Ferguson said that increasing seats and instructors will go hand in hand. 

“You can’t just have more students and expect them to be taught in the exact same way. There’s lots of innovation happening in terms of new ways of teaching and certainly supporting our students in different capacities, but that’s going to require eventually space [and teachers].”