In January 2024, the federal government cracked down on dozens of colleges and universities, including Algoma, that had abused the immigration system, slashing the number of study permits allowed each year, from 543,978 international student permits authorized or confirmed nationwide in 2023, to 305,900 last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For 2026\/27, 309,670 provincial attestation letters (PALs)\u2014a requirement for obtaining a study permit\u2014will be issued in Canada, according to numbers from the federal government<\/a>. Of those, 104,780 will be allocated to Ontario\u2019s post secondary institutions\u2014a 42 percent reduction compared to 2025\/26.\u00a0<\/p>\n A breakdown from the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security shows Algoma will receive a total of 1,508 PALs this coming academic year. With an average of approximately 80 percent of PALs resulting in an enrolment, Algoma would see 1,200 international students in September. This represents a loss of approximately 4,000 international students, and an $80 million decline in revenue (they pay $20,000 for two semesters).<\/p>\n After a roughly 50 percent decline in enrolment at the start of the 2025\/26 academic year compared to the previous year, from about 9,000 students to 4,500, Algoma warned of a massive decline in revenue. The university had already lost $32 million in revenue as of the end of April 2025<\/a> (its fiscal year end) compared to the prior year, before the much more drastic drop in international student enrolment.\u00a0<\/p>\n The $24 million loss in tuition revenues from 2024 to 2025 is projected to be dwarfed when the latest year-end figures are released, and with an even more dramatic cut to approximately just 1,200 international students next year, the revenue losses could be crippling.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sharp decline in international enrolment, down approximately 60% due to federal immigration policy changes and volatility, has led to a fall enrolment of just over 4,500 students across all campuses, roughly half of last year\u2019s total of more than 9,000,\u201d Algoma warned on its website this past November, after the final September enrolment numbers were released.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout change, the University is projected to face a $17 million annual funding gap by 2029.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The estimate by the university could be far short of the eventual gap, with a loss of $80 million in annual international fees compared to the recent highs. Total cash and expected accounts receivable assets had already fallen by $68 million as of April 30, 2025, compared to the previous year.<\/p>\n All of the losses will be significantly amplified when this year\u2019s and next year\u2019s student reductions are felt, financially\u2014the inevitable result of the sudden drop in PALs over two years.<\/p>\n Algoma\u2019s communications department did not respond to questions about the 2026\/27 PAL allocations.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to its website, Algoma is committed to growing its domestic cohort\u201480 percent of student enrolments this fall were Canadian students\u2014but this has been a \u201cchallenge\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe current funding model presents a hurdle, as every net new domestic student that Algoma University welcomes above the provincial allocation is unfunded, making it difficult to grow the domestic student population,\u201d the website explains<\/a>. \u201cAlgoma University has been asking the province to increase its current funding allocation (corridor funding). Right now, the way funding is structured works against the University\u2019s plans to grow domestic student enrolment across all campuses. Algoma University raises this issue in every meeting with provincial and municipal officials to keep it at the centre of our advocacy efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Algoma\u2019s footprint in downtown Brampton remains uncertain after international student numbers were drastically reduced by the federal government. The university had become dependent on their high tuition fees and is now facing dire financial challenges. <\/p>\n (Alexis Wright\/The Pointer files)<\/p>\n
The former president, Asima Vezina, who rebuilt Algoma\u2019s entire business model around exploiting the lucrative market of international students<\/a>, quietly stepped away in February of last year, after faculty called for her to be fired<\/a> when they passed a no confidence motion against her for putting profits ahead of students.\u00a0<\/p>\n In November, as a result of the mass loss in international student revenue, Algoma officials conceded that layoffs were \u201cunavoidable\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n In September, 14 administrative positions were eliminated, followed by the layoffs of 25 unionized staff in November. According to Algoma\u2019s website, these staffing cuts were split across the Brampton campus and the university\u2019s main location in Sault Ste. Marie.\u00a0<\/p>\n University officials have not confirmed future layoffs, but a FAQ section of Algoma\u2019s website explains the institution could still be working through the layoff process detailed in the collective bargaining agreement for unionized staff. This allows for \u201cbumping\u201d, meaning a senior staff member who receives a layoff notice can replace another staffer in a similar or \u201clower-rated\u201d position.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOnce this process is complete, we will be able to provide further updates,\u201d the Algoma website explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n In September, Algoma\u2019s interim president, Dr. Sheila Embleton, indicated the layoffs could affect as many as 75 staff members<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Alice Ridout, Department Chair of English and History at Algoma and the Vice President of OPSEU Local 685, the Algoma University Faculty Association, many of the questions around Algoma\u2019s future, including the feasibility of the Brampton campus, remain unanswered.\u00a0<\/p>\n Decisions about the future of Brampton will fall to the new president, she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Algoma is in the midst of trying to find the right candidate to replace Vezina. According to a March 26 update on the university\u2019s website<\/a> from Rob Battisti, Chair of the Board of Governors, and Kate Lamb, Vice-Chair of the Board of Governors, \u201ca thorough review of applicants\u201d has been completed and \u201cthe Advisory Group was pleased to receive a number of strong applicants and recently completed interviews.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing AU is looking for in a new president is a vision\u2014and the ability to manage the logistics of implementing that vision\u2014for Brampton,\u201d Ridout told The Pointer in an emailed statement. \u201cBecoming a multi-campus university was a central goal of our last Strategic Plan and that Plan was extended by the Board until the arrival of the next President. So we won\u2019t see any significant strategic change of direction from the Board until then and I don\u2019t believe we\u2019ll see\u2026larger questions about the future of the Brampton campus meaningfully addressed until the new President arrives.\u201d<\/p>\n With a large footprint in downtown Brampton, whatever happens to Algoma will have ripple effects for the ailing city centre which for years has been anticipating a boost in business from thousands of international university students.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2019, City council agreed to contribute $7.3 million<\/a> to Algoma University\u2019s $34.4-million campus expansion project that would double its student capacity.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2022, when there were only a few hundred students, Vezina made the bold proclamation to Brampton Council that the local campus would reach 5,000 students over the next three years. This was two months before the scathing auditor general\u2019s report which showed that while Algoma had used international students to pull itself out of debt, little of that money was going back into improving their learning experience; the lion\u2019s share was going to the main campus in Sault Ste. Marie.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The unsustainable student expansion at the Brampton campus was achieved without \u201csignificant capital investments\u201d, the Auditor General concluded in 2022. With almost 5,400 students in Brampton by 2024, the small satellite campus had only 16 classrooms.<\/p>\n The AG\u2019s findings were obvious to anyone who spent time at the Brampton campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n By 2024, thanks to students from India, mostly Punjab, enrolment at the Brampton campus had far exceeded the main campus in Sault Ste. Marie which had about 2,000 students.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The proposed plan for a new Algoma student residence in Brampton at Park Street and Nelson Street West announced in May of 2024 remains up in the air. <\/p>\n (Algoma University)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Brampton site was bursting at the seams, as the student body exploded, from approximately 540 who attended in the 2020\/21 academic year, to 5,372 in 2024\u2014a nearly 900 percent increase in three years.<\/p>\n The explosion in international student revenue helped balloon the post-secondary institution\u2019s total cash assets, from $5,806,372 in 2016 (when, according to Ontario\u2019s Auditor General, the university was over-burdened by debt<\/a>) to $227,985,000 in 2023, a 3,800 percent increase in seven years.<\/p>\n Algoma\u2019s communication department did not respond to questions about the future of the Brampton campus, and whether it is at risk of closure due to the drastic drop in international students. Questions about the student residence planned for Brampton<\/a> were not addressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Questions sent to Paul Quesnele, Algoma University Secretary, and interim President Embleton, were not addressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Email: [email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n At a time when vital public information is needed by everyone, The Pointer has taken down our paywall on all stories\u00a0to ensure every resident of Brampton, Mississauga and Niagara has access to the facts. For those who are able, we encourage you to consider a subscription. This will help us report on important public interest issues the community needs to know about now more than ever. You can register for a 30-day free trial\u00a0HERE<\/a>. Thereafter, The Pointer will charge $10 a month and you can cancel any time right on the website. Thank you<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Algoma University is facing a multi-million dollar tuition shortfall, a projected operating deficit of as much as $7.5…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617801,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194339],"tags":[51759,49,48],"class_list":["post-617800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brampton","tag-brampton","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69e6c31136e11.jpg\")
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\nAll of this is happening while the post-secondary institution is without a president to lead it through these difficult times.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69e6c31227984.jpg\")
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