College Ward councillor calls on City of Ottawa to weigh in on Algonquin College cuts

Students walk at Algonquin College's Ottawa campus. Jan. 23, 2026. (Kimberley Johnson/CTV News Ottawa)

The Ottawa city councillor representing College Ward, home to Algonquin College, is calling on the city to weigh in on the impacts of proposed program cuts at the school.

The Algonquin College board of governors will meet on Feb. 23 to decide on whether to cut 30 programs in order to “ensure alignment with student and labour market demands, financial sustainability and resource optimization.”

The proposed cuts were first announced in late January, and follow 41 program cuts in 2025, as well as the sale of Algonquin College’s Perth campus.

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Coun. Laine Johnson moved a time-sensitive motion at Ottawa City Council on Wednesday, calling on city staff to undertake an internal scan of potential impacts the proposed program cuts could have to the future attraction and recruitment of qualified employees and how that might affect city services.

“We have requirements in our employee status that have to do with diploma programs that will not exist,” Johnson said. “We need to stand together with our other public institutions and say that these decisions do not happen in a vacuum.”

The motion also calls for consultation with the mayor’s economic council on the possible impacts the proposed cuts could have, and to report the findings to the college’s president and board of governors before Feb. 20. The findings would also be sent to the provincial minister of colleges and universities.

“I think we really do need to put pressure to say that this cannot be the plan. The plan cannot be to cut programs to respond to financial pressure. The plan needs to be holistic in nature. We need to be able to support our students but also be able to protect Ontario and the economy that we want to see for our kids’ future,” Johnson said.

Algonquin College says the proposed cuts are necessary to respond to shifts in the postsecondary landscape, in the face of provincial funding shortfalls and policy decisions by the federal government limiting international students.

“Our responsibility is to ensure that we can continue to deliver a high-quality learning experience and strong student supports, while making decisions that protect the long-term sustainability of Algonquin College,” the college said on its website.

“The recommendations are meant to help the college remain financially sustainable and focus on programs with strong student demand and industry relevance. This ensures the college continues to serve learners and the community effectively.”

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Johnson previously wrote a letter to Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security Nolan Quinn, calling on the province to increase funding to Algonquin College.

The province says the federal government’s changes to the international student permit system is leading the postsecondary sector to make “difficult decisions” to ensure long-term sustainability.

“We are also working with our postsecondary partners to modernize their funding model, to be more responsive and sustainable, by examining how we fund priority programs, how we can better support small, rural, and northern institutions, and how we can align funding with student success outcomes to ensure graduates are job ready,” a statement from the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security said.