Administrator appointed to Conestoga College after audit uncovers ‘egregious financial decisions’

The exterior of Conestoga College's John W. Tibbits campus in Waterloo, Ont. was seen on April 1, 2025.

The Ontario government is stepping in after an audit uncovered concerns about significant financial misuse and governance failings at Conestoga College.

The school’s board of governors has been relieved of their duties and the province has named Linda Franklin as administrator for Conestoga College, effective immediately.

Franklin previously served as the president and CEO of Colleges Ontario, an association that represents Ontario’s 24 public colleges.

“This action is necessary following an extensive audit, during which the government discovered numerous egregious financial decisions which lacked appropriate oversight by members of the college’s Board,” a news release from the provincial government said.

Franklin is expected to work with the college’s interim president, Norma McDonald Ewing, and other members of the leadership team.

After the announcement on Thursday, Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, said there is no set timeline for how long Franklin will be working at Conestoga College, but she will be making $1,600 per day.

“If you look at what the previous president’s salary was at over $600,000 dollars and the egregious fiscal management of the institution, we need to ensure we have the right administrator in there to bring back good governance to the board as well as fiscal management to the institution itself,” Quinn said when asked about Franklin’s compensation.

The minister confirmed police are not involved in the situation at Conestoga College and said no other audits are underway at other post-secondary institutions.

“We believe, right now, that Conestoga is an outlier,” Quinn said. “But if there are any other institutions that are not putting money directly towards the students, we will not hesitate to act.”

Tibbits’ salary and a trip to Italy

Some of the concerns specifically cited by the provincial government include the board’s decision to approve a 55 per cent salary increase in 2024 for the college’s former president, John Tibbits, as well as Tibbits’ termination payment that added up to 83 times the president’s monthly salary.

“A 55 per cent increase in [Tibbits’] take home salary year-over-year from 2024 to 2025 is egregious. Over $630,000 annually. And then that triggered an audit,” Quinn explained.

Tibbits stepped down as the college’s president in January 2026. In the preceding years, he made headlines after he called the president of Sault College, David Orazietti, a “whore” in response to the claims that Conestoga College was one of the “bad actors” that resulted in a reduction of international student permits.

“Like Orazietti, why are his goddamn students in Toronto? Why not up there? Talk about a whore. I mean, he’s taking a percentage of the profits of an operation,” Tibbits was quoted as saying by online news outlet CambridgeToday.

According to the Sunshine List, Tibbits was Waterloo Region’s highest-paid public sector worker in 2024 after he pulled in a salary of $636,107.

The audit also found three senior leaders took a $23,000 trip to Italy where the school paid for “business class airfare, luxury accommodations and premium transportation.”

“In addition, repeated, ineligible hospitality expenses were approved without proper oversight, including a $1,300 dining expense for internal staff, where 50 per cent of the pre-tax total was alcohol,” the province said.

Other similar trips were also taken, but the province did not include further details on those excursions.

“We’re looking into all options to see if we can bring that money back where it should be - with the students,” Quinn said.

Regular operations will continue at Conestoga College and students are not expected to see any interruptions in their studies.

In the meantime, Franklin will act in place of the board of governors and develop a plan to restore strong fiscal management and governance.

A controversial college

The college faced scrutiny in December 2025 after 181 full-time faculty members and 197 support staff were laid off right before Christmas. The move sparked the ire of union representatives.

“Recognizing that Conestoga has had over 500 layoffs, it’s the largest in the college system and these types of egregious decisions are not showing financial management and ensuring that there are fiscal decisions being made on behalf of the organization. Money should be benefitting the students and students first,” Quinn said on Thursday.

Before that, in October 2025, Tibbits also faced a barrage of questions at a federal committee examining the country’s international student policies.

The college and Tibbits had been under the microscope due to concerns about the number of international students attending the school. Conestoga College’s international student enrolment grew by 1,579 per cent in seven years, from 763 students in 2014-15 to 12,808 in 2021-22, according to a 2024 report from Ontario’s Big City Mayors.

Tibbits appeared at the October committee meeting by video.

When committee members were given the opportunity to address witnesses at the meeting, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner posed the first line of questioning to Tibbits.

“I’ve got to say, it’s kind of a mess,” Rempel Garner said after asking several questions regarding strains on housing stock, youth jobs and the healthcare system.

“You were quoted as saying about Sault College president David Orazietti some pretty wild things. You called him a whore, yet I note that your salary is over $600,000. You are now the highest-paid college or university president in the province. We’ve heard some pretty bad things about foreign students at your college. How do you reconcile those comments you made about another university president with your current salary and the mess that the region now finds itself in due to your decisions to juice foreign student permits to that level?”

Tibbits refuted some of her claims.

Throughout the course of the meeting, Tibbits would reiterate that the college has been investing in housing to ensure all students have access to suitable accommodations. However, committee members pushed back on that idea, noting local media outlets, including CTV News, published a story in 2024 where regional councillor Michael Harris said he had spoken to a Conestoga College student who had left a home he had been sharing with 13 other students.

College responds

CTV News Kitchener obtained a copy of an email sent to Conestoga College students and staff on Thursday afternoon.

The email, signed by McDonald Ewing, confirmed that an administrator had been appointed.

“This decision follows a Ministry-led audit that raised serious concerns about the Board’s ability to ensure strong governance, fiscal accountability and a sustainable future that is focused on student success at Conestoga College,” the email said, in part.

“I want to reassure our entire community that Conestoga’s day‑to‑day operations will continue as normal. Students, faculty, and staff should expect no disruption to programs, services, or supports," the email continued.

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