Algonquin College to close Perth campus in 2026, citing financial strain

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Algonquin College’s Perth campus will close in 2026, with president and CEO Claude Brulé saying a lack of funding from the province as well as the federal government capping visas for international students has put deep financial strain on the institution.

In an internal memo shared with this newspaper, Brulé said the college expects a $32-million loss in revenue in the current year, and an anticipated deficit of $60 million for the 2025-26 school year, ballooning to $96 million for the following year.

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“Given this situation, the college is developing plans to address this difficult fiscal reality,” he wrote.

Closing the Perth campus by the end of August 2026 is “an extremely difficult decision that is not taken lightly and is a direct result of the financial challenges we are facing.”

After August 2026, programs held at the Perth campus will continue at the Ottawa campus.

‘The most challenging times in the college’s history’

Brulé’s memo indicated further cuts to the college’s programming could be coming.

He said a full review of the college’s programs, as well as administrative and support services, has been happening since the fall.

“Every area of the college is being reviewed and will be impacted.”

Brulé called it “the most challenging fiscal time in the college’s history.”

Last January, the federal government announced a nationwide reduction in new student visas, with Ontario seeing a reduction of as much as 50 per cent.

At the time, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said he hoped the cap would give the federal and provincial governments time to curb a system that he said was taking advantage of high international student tuition while providing, in some cases, a poor education.

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Then, in fall 2024, Miller announced a “pause” in Canada’s population growth and “controlled targets” for temporary residents, specifically international students and foreign workers, as well as permanent residents.

That plan meant Canada’s temporary population would decline by more than 445,000 in 2025 and 2026, and then increase slightly in 2027.

The reductions in temporary residents, including international students and temporary foreign workers, was done in part to bolster Canada’s labour market, and to ensure “we continue to attract the best and the brightest,” the feds said at the time.

— With files from The Canadian Press

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