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June 11, 2025

Canada’s Challenges, College Solutions

Prime Minister Carney and his Cabinet are moving quickly to make meaningful progress on the new government’s mandate to build a more affordable, stronger, united and globally connected Canada while emphasizing fiscal restraint – spending less and investing more. The June 2 meeting of First Ministers in Saskatoon underscored the commitment to federal-provincial-territorial collaboration on nation-building projects to grow and diversify the economy.

These are times of national consequence – and achieving this ambitious agenda will require big ideas and even bigger actions.

On May 14, CICan’s President & CEO, Pari Johnston, wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister.

The message? Canada’s public colleges, institutes, CEGEPs, and polytechnics are key partners in building a strong, sovereign and resilient Canada. By building up our builders, investing in innovation at the local level, and developing a national workforce strategy, the government can leverage Canada’s dynamic network of public colleges and institutes to meet the moment.

Read the Open Letter

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May 29, 2025

A Globally Competitive Workforce Starts at Home

As Canada faces an imperative to diversify our trading relationships, make gains in emerging markets, and build new global ties, our long-term success and resilience depends more than ever on our people.

Our builders, makers, growers, caregivers, and first responders need a global perspective that includes the ability to adapt to unfamiliar environments, communicate across cultures, think on their feet, and bring fresh insights, ideas and innovations to employers facing local and global challenges. These are the very skills thousands of Canadian students developed through Global Skills Opportunity (GSO).

A Transformative Model

Wrapping up this past March, Global Skills Opportunity was a joint program between Colleges and Institutes Canada and Universities Canada and funded by the Government of Canada making international learning experiences more accessible for Canadian post-secondary students.

In the past five years, nearly 15,000 Canadian students lived, worked, and studied in more than 100 countries through GSO. There, they broadened their perspectives, launched promising careers, gained a deeper understanding of the world and their place in it, and built global ties that put Canada in a place to lead.

Crucially, three-quarters of participants identified as Indigenous, had a disability, or came from low-income backgrounds—young people who’ve historically faced the steepest barriers to international experiences.

In each case, students come home more culturally literate, resilient, adaptable, and ready to succeed with the relevant skills employers want and the Canadian economy needs.

Testimonials: Explore their stories at the GSO Alumni Hub.

Empowering the Future: Hear from GSO’s Ambassadors.

A Skilled, Agile and Mobile Workforce

For Canada’s workers, global experience translates into career readiness and the in-demand skills and new insights that give our builders, makers, and doers a competitive edge. For the country, it means more resilient global networks and more productive and competitive Canadian businesses we need to get the big things done.

As the new government outlines its ambitions to build a unified national economy and skilled workforce, strengthen trade by pivoting to new partners, secure the country, and protect our values, skill-building programs like GSO leave a legacy of impact for Canada’s next generation that can’t be ignored.

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May 14, 2025

It’s Go Time: Bold Action for Canada

In just over two weeks since his election, Prime Minister Mark Carney has already outlined some bold objectives for building housing, improving affordability, boosting productivity, and transforming the Canadian economy through bold action.

On these priorities, the message from our sector is clear: Canada’s colleges and institutes are key partners in getting things done.

The Big Conversations

Last month, CICan convened over 130 leaders from Canada’s public colleges, institutes, CEGEPs, and polytechnics along with key partner organizations for our first-ever Leaders Summit to chart a path that will empower our sector to continue doing what we do best.

Bringing together the right people to ask the right questions at the right time, conversations focused on the most pressing questions where Canada’s challenges, a new government’s priorities, and the big opportunities in postsecondary education intersect:

Growing domestic enrollment in ways that build a made-in-Canada skilled workforce, driving digital transformation and leveraging digital tools to enhance Canadian innovation and productivity, and boosting inter-provincial learner and credential mobility to create a connected, competitive Canadian economy.

The result? A renewed spirit of unity and urgency, driving bold action for Canada.

Some of the ideas:

Strengthening programs with real-time labour market data and industry partnerships.

Building new models to support microcredentials, modular learning, and Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR).

Supporting non-traditional learners through expanded financial aid and flexible pathways.

Scaling national initiatives like Military-Connected Campuses to grow enrollment and better support Canada’s defense and civilian workforce needs.

Empowering faculty and staff to champion digital innovation through peer-driven training.

Balancing digital delivery with hands-on learning to meet diverse learner needs.

Leveraging sector-wide tools like Digital Campus Canada and the Canadian Coalition of Affordable Learning to drive access, efficiency, and innovation.

Connecting learners more effectively to programs and careers through digital tools and labour market data.

Advocating for national coordination on credential and competency recognition.

Piloting innovative models like the Authentic Competency Evaluation (ACE) system, led by Atlantic Colleges Atlantique (ACA), that validates real skills, not just classroom time.

Forming regional and national coalitions to drive political momentum, share best practices, and accelerate change.

Prioritizing inclusive solutions that work for non-traditional, marginalized, and mobile learners.

The Road Ahead

This is a new chapter for Canada and our sector. Canadians are asking for change, reassurance, and confidence in public institutions following what has been called the most consequential election since the end of the Second World War – and our sector is front and centre in this national frame.

Canada’s public colleges, institutes, CEGEPs, and polytechnics are central to building and making stuff in Canada. We are the path to good careers in the skilled trades and ensuring exponential growth in talent and labour mobility in the skilled workforce needed to support sectors of critical national importance. We are essential partners to boosting productivity among Canadian SMEs via AI uptake and applied research and innovation at scale, and to building Canada’s national security and defense capacity through training partnerships.

Investing in the capacity and expertise of our institutions isn’t just good policy, it’s essential for Canada’s future. From building and making things right here at home, to growing a more competitive, productive workforce and economy, to strengthening global trade, our sector is where it starts.

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March 17, 2025

What I See in a United Public College and Institute Sector

What’s on My Mind? With Pari Johnston.

I’m fresh off a mission to Washington D.C. with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce where I met with key U.S. industry leaders, political influencers, and my postsecondary association counterparts south of the border to discuss – among other things – what Canada needs most to safeguard economic stability, protect jobs, and drive innovation.

The conversations were fruitful and strategic, and I was struck by the appetite for unity and shared purpose. Amid challenging Canada-US relations and an uncertain political and economic landscape at home, a united public college and institute sector is a safety net Canadians can rely on.

Meeting the Moment Together

At CICan, we take our role in bringing together voices from across the sector seriously. We hear concerns and ideas from our members, gather and distill insights, and turn that intel into engagement that can drive new opportunities for growth.

Our Futures Forum is the college and institute sector’s premier convening platform, designed to ignite national conversations on the emerging trends and system-wide transformation that serve Team Canada.

Through it all, Canada’s public colleges and institutes are driving the conversation with purpose – they’re asking bold and strategic questions.

How can we develop new national approaches to workforce development in critical sectors of national importance for Canada (e.g. critical minerals and nuclear energy)?
How can we leverage and scale technology to enhance learning and institutional efficiency and outcomes?
How can we co-develop and scale procurement, program delivery and/or credit evaluation and transfer solutions that will drive system transformation?
How do we redesign and refocus the postsecondary sector to meet Canada’s moment?

These are some of the real-time sectoral trends, emerging issues, and forward-focused strategies that will drive the agenda at CICan’s first-ever Leaders Summit – our Futures Forum’s flagship event.

At moments like these, coming together matters more than ever. These critical discussions will ensure Canada’s public colleges and institutes remain agile, impactful, and equipped to serve Canadian businesses, Canadian workers, and Canadian-made solutions.

Agility and Leadership

Our network prepares nearly 800,000 learners in urban, rural, remote, and northern communities with more than 10,000 programs across all sectors, conducts more than 8,000 applied research projects annually, and adds over $190 billion to Canada’s economy each year.

We are part of Team Canada. Canada’s public colleges and institutes train the builders, growers, makers, caregivers, first responders, innovators, and job creators that Canadians depend on. We can be counted on to help Canada build and do big things, especially as we pivot to new markets both within Canada and around the world.

As a sector, we ensure we have a skilled workforce to meet housing and healthcare demands, ensure workers are equipped to thrive in resource-intensive and digital industries, and makes Canada’s small businesses more innovative, efficient, and productive.

As leaders, colleges and institutes are the ones driving the conversations that will take Canada where it needs to go – thinking proactively and strategically about what Canadians need from our institutions, and engaging government, industry, and other partners to meet Canada’s – and the world’s – biggest challenges.

A federal election is likely to be called in the coming days.

The future may be uncertain, but the leadership, unity, and commitment of public colleges and institutes to Team Canada are not. The moment to capitalize on strategy, new thinking, and system-wide action is now.

Canada needs what public colleges do best: workforce readiness; anticipating future skills and innovation needs on the ground, regularly reviewing and developing adaptive learning models, creating opportunities for micro-credentialing and robust work-integrated learning programs.

When public colleges and institutes thrive, their communities thrive. When they come together on the national stage, they build our country.

In a unified public college and institute sector, I see a resilient, competitive, and prosperous future for all Canadians.

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March 3, 2025

Building Canada’s Edge in Trade, Talent, and Innovation

What’s on My Mind? With Pari Johnston.

This week, I’m in Washington, D.C., joining a Canadian Chamber of Commerce mission focused on one of the most pressing issues for both Canada and the U.S.: the future of our advanced manufacturing and supply chains.

With new U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods adding further strain to supply chains—on top of ongoing workforce challenges and rising economic uncertainty—this mission brings together key American and Canadian stakeholders, including current and former government officials, industry leaders, and political influencers to discuss what’s needed to safeguard supply chains, protect jobs, and drive innovation in these critical industries.

What’s being discussed?

Enhancing Supply Chain Stability: We need stronger, more resilient trade partnerships to ensure businesses on both sides of the border can continue to operate efficiently, even during times of economic uncertainty.

Addressing Tariffs and Trade Barriers: President Trump’s proposed tariffs threaten to disrupt Canada-U.S. trade. We need to advocate for fair trade policies that protect Canadian businesses and workers under The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Strengthening Canada-U.S. Trade Relations: Open, collaborative dialogue is critical to keeping markets accessible and ensuring that Canadian products and expertise remain competitive.

Boosting Innovation in Manufacturing: The integration of cutting-edge technologies in manufacturing is key to staying ahead in an evolving global economy.

But these discussions aren’t just about protecting and strengthening trade relations; they’re about reinforcing Canada’s economic resilience.

That’s where we come in.

To strengthen supply chain stability and resilience, businesses on both sides of the border need workers with expertise in everything from advanced manufacturing to logistics. Public colleges and institutes deliver that skilled and relevant workforce.

With over 1,500 manufacturing-related programs, including supply chain management, colleges and institutes train the skilled workers—technicians, engineers, and specialists—who design, build, and maintain the systems that manufacture and move the goods that Canadians rely on every day. From aerospace and automotive manufacturing to rail and trucking logistics, our job-ready graduates are essential to keeping supply chains efficient, smart, and resilient.

Plus, with nearly 700 research labs across Canada, colleges are partnering with Canadian industries (especially SMEs) to develop innovative, made-in-Canada solutions that boost productivity, enhance automation, and help businesses navigate market shifts, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes. These collaborations – with a focus on derisking new product, process and prototype development – give Canadian manufacturers a competitive edge. In just one year, almost 3,000 college applied research projects have powered Canadian manufacturers and producers to improve how we make and market things right here at home.

Securing Our Role in Shaping the Future

When we say public colleges train the builders, makers, and doers Canada needs more than ever, this is what we mean. As cross-border supply chains face disruptions, political tensions mount, and global trade transforms, our 135 members stand united – ready to serve Team Canada.

I’ll be your voice in D.C. to ensure Canada’s public colleges and institutes remain at the forefront of policy discussions on continental supply chain stability, workforce development, and innovation. While there, I look also forward to engaging with my counterparts at the Amercian Community College Association, the Amercian Council on Education, and our talented trade commissioners at the Canadian Embassy. Look for my LinkedIn posts from the road on what I am seeing and hearing.

Public colleges and institutes are essential partners to building a strong and resilient Canada, today, tomorrow and in the months and years to come.

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February 12, 2025

A Stronger Canada Starts Within: How Colleges and Institutes Build National Resilience

Canada is facing tough times. The threat of widespread U.S. tariffs puts our jobs, goods, and wallets at risk. This week our steel and aluminum sectors were hit. If these tariffs expand across industries like advanced manufacturing, automotive production, food, agriculture and forestry, the impacts will be severe – disrupting supply chains and critical services. Prices will rise, jobs will be cut, and families will face fewer options and greater uncertainty.

Now is the time for Canada to take charge of its future. That means investing in Canadian businesses, Canadian workers, and Canadian-made solutions. Publicly funded colleges and institutes are central to that effort. They help Canadians land good-paying jobs, support Canadian businesses as they grow and diversify, and drive the kind of innovation that strengthens Canadian industries and the economy. And, in tough times, they’ve always stepped up – helping local companies adapt and training the workers needed to keep our economy moving.

Today is no different. Colleges and institutes stand united, ready to serve Team Canada.

Driving Local Impact, Scaling National Transformation

With nearly 700 campuses nationwide, 95% of Canadians live within 50 km of a college or institute. That means these institutions are always within reach, providing workers, businesses, and families with the training and support they need, right where they are.

Deeply connected to their communities, colleges move fast. They collaborate with local industries, municipalities, and community organizations to meet the real-time needs of the people they serve – from housing and caregiving support to export and energy diversification and helping local businesses embrace new technologies, processes and products. And, with CICan’s convening power and leadership initiatives like our Futures Forum, colleges and institutes can coordinate efforts across the country, amplifying their impact in tackling both local and national challenges.

Preparing Workers for the Future Economy

For Canada to strengthen its economy from within, we need an adaptable, skilled workforce that can build, make, and innovate right here at home. From training electricians, technicians and engineers to supporting entrepreneurs, colleges and institutes provide essential skills through a wide range of demand-driven programs. In fact, with over 10,000 programs offered across various sectors within CICan’s network, 6.45 million Canadians in the workforce today are college and institute graduates.

When industries shift, colleges and institutes quickly adapt, working with partners to identify needs and offering retraining and upskilling to ensure no one is left behind. They also provide flexible learning options like online courses, short-term programs, or part-time study so workers can develop new skills without putting their lives – or paycheques – on hold. This kind of accessible, adaptable education is essential as Canada works to build a more self-sufficient and resilient economy.

Accelerating Homegrown Innovation

Canadian businesses – especially small and medium-sized ones – rely on colleges and institutes for innovation and expertise. With nearly 700 research labs across the country, colleges collaborate with Canadian companies to develop made-in-Canada products, enhance efficiency, and quickly pivot to meet evolving market demands, keeping them competitive.

The results speak for themselves. In just one year, college research led to 6,436 new processes, products, prototypes and services, with 80% of them developed in less than a year. This translates to fast, effective solutions that strengthen Canadian businesses, create more good jobs, and improve life for Canadians.

And with 98% of industry research partners based in Canada, intellectual property (IP) stays where it belongs – at home. Better yet, businesses – not colleges – retain full ownership of their IP, keeping the benefits in their hands while driving national wealth creation and economic growth.

Leveraging Global Partnerships

Colleges and institutes maintain global partnerships in over 50 countries, leveraging Canada’s reputation for excellence in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and its leadership in delivering critical skills training internationally.

These partnerships help Canadian businesses innovate, pivot, and expand into new markets, while also equipping workers with in-demand global skills that enhance Canada’s competitive edge on the world stage.

By tapping into our 135 public colleges and institutes, Canada can emerge from these challenges stronger and more resilient, with a workforce and economy ready to thrive in the face of uncertainty and transformation.

Colleges and institutes are here for you, Canada.

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December 4, 2024

Colleges and Institutes Matter

What’s on My Mind? With Pari Johnston.

I joined CICan a year ago this week. Since then, our sector has been turned on its head in more ways than one. Still, what I’ve learned in my first 12 months on the job is that – more than ever – the work we do matters. A lot.

In my first year, I’ve had the opportunity to visit over 40 CICan members in 9 provinces: Vancouver Community College, Lakeland College in Lloydminster, Suncrest College in Yorkton, Assiniboine College in Brandon, Fanshawe College in London, Collège Ahuntsic in Montréal, Collège Communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick in Moncton and Holland College in Charlottetown, to name just a few.

During my visits, I toured cutting-edge aviation, biomanufacturing and agriculture training and research facilities; tried my hand (badly) at virtual simulations to fix a tire on an EV and administer a needle for dental work; drove a firetruck and filmed a scene in an animation studio; dined at student-run bistros; met dedicated staff, faculty, and students from all over the world; marvelled at the top-line jewellery, fashion and high end ceramics made by talented graduates; and witnessed the prototypes created for local companies to solve their business problems and help them scale their operations. In short, I discovered firsthand how CICan’s 134 members are community – and nation-builders.

Read back through my LinkedIn posts from my visits and you’ll notice a theme – bold, pioneering, passionate, unrivalled dynamism and responsiveness.

Even through the challenging context of the past year, I’m struck by the vitality of your campuses, by how deeply rooted your institutions are in your communities, and by just how much Canadians – from all walks of life—rely on publicly funded colleges and institutes to realize new opportunities.

Colleges and institutes train the builders, growers, makers, caregivers, first responders, innovators and job creators that Canadians depend on. As a sector, what we do ensures we have a skilled workforce to meet housing and healthcare demands, ensures workers are equipped to thrive in green and digital industries, and makes Canada’s small businesses more innovative, efficient, and productive.

But more so, your institutions build communities. And by building communities, we build a country.

Being out on the road this past year brought to life for me that nearly every Canadian lives within 50 km of a CICan member campus. The way we reach Canadians as a sector – in rural, remote, Northern, and urban areas – is unmatched and a true Canadian asset.

We’re facing challenges both as a sector and as a country.

Canadians can expect a lot of change in the coming months. Globally, geopolitical winds are changing, industries and supply chains are being redefined, populations are aging, and technologies like AI are accelerating the pace of change and shifting where business is done. 

At home, in view of a federal election, it’s clear that colleges and institutes can and must focus on the things Canada needs most: housing, healthcare, innovative resource development, food security, strong domestic manufacturing capacity and thriving local businesses to drive long-term competitiveness and productivity.

Looking forward, CICan is ready to evolve.

What I’ve heard during my visits – about your aspirations, your needs, and your challenges – are the key drivers of CICan’s evolving strategic directions.

We’ll be starting work in 2025 to continue to define with members, our Board, CICan staff, and our partners the “CICan of the Future.” A vision characterized by intensified focus on leadership development, convening and supporting college leaders in institutional and system transformation to continue to meet the needs of Canadians and address Canada’s biggest challenges.

Leadership matters more than ever.

We are agile, responsive, resilient, and we deliver results for Canadians.

But there is still collective work to do to refresh and renew the public value narrative of what we deliver. We need to continue the on-the-ground mobilization with partners that has been generated in the past few months to build robust coalitions and a strong public postsecondary system working with industry, communities, universities, mayors and labour unions.

We’ll need your continued support to ensure decision makers recognize the opportunities offered by colleges and institutes to be leaders in meeting Canada’s – and their communities’ – biggest challenges

It is our time – we are the partners Canada needs.

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November 25, 2024

Colleges and Institutes Speak Out on the Community Impact of International Student Policy Reforms

Following our open letter last month, public colleges and institutes across Canada have been voicing their concerns about the damaging impact of recent federal immigration policy reforms on their local communities, including the cap on international students and changes to the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) program.

College leaders argue that Ottawa’s one-size-fits-all approach fails to consider the realities of regional labour market needs. They’ve also expressed concerns about the tone, rhetoric, and rapid rollout of these changes, citing significant and far-reaching economic and social consequences, including:

Harm to Canadians and their communities: Restricting access to skilled talent, failing to recognize Canada’s regional differences and demographic pressures, and neglecting to invest in public colleges and institutes hurt Canada’s ability to meet local labour market needs, fill workforce gaps and drive innovation in key growth sectors.
Damage to Canada’s global reputation: The rapid, confusing rollout of these reforms has created uncertainty and damaged Canada’s image as a welcoming, stable destination for international students, weakening its position in the global education and talent market.
Threats to the future of programming for Canadian students: The ongoing policy changes jeopardize their ability to maintain and offer programs to Canadian students, especially those in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities.
Impact on Colleges’ Reputations: The rhetoric surrounding these reforms has, at times, unfairly placed singular responsibility on colleges and institutes for broader and longstanding national policy challenges like housing and healthcare shortages. This undermines the critical role they play as workforce solution providers to these very challenges and to the urgent labour market needs in their regions.

Regional Impacts

Here’s a closer look at what our members are saying about how these reforms are impacting communities across Canada:

Prince Edward Island: Holland College’s president says that the international student cap hurts Canada’s reputation.
New Brunswick: Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick and New Brunswick Community College warn that the reforms will directly impact the businesses and communities of New Brunswick.
Quebec: Fédération des Cégeps believes that the reforms are vague, lack precision, and look like improvisation.
Ontario: Georgian College highlights how these changes threaten employers’ ability to fill critical labour gaps, while Seneca Polytechnic’s president underscores the compounded financial strain caused by a six-year tuition freeze, cutbacks in international student visas, and inflationary pressures. Colleges Ontario adds the government’s deeply concerning announcement on further international student restrictions demonstrates a clear university bias.
Manitoba: Assiniboine College’s president criticizes the lack of regional nuance in the policy changes, which fail to address specific local challenges and opportunities.
Saskatchewan: Great Plains College’s vice president of programs and students says the blanket approach does not consider the differences between regions or provinces in the country.
British Columbia: The president of BC Colleges says this is not the time to discourage students from choosing public colleges.

Financial Impacts

Additionally, the financial impact of these changes is significant, with several colleges reporting serious budget shortfalls and announcing means to address them:

Selkirk College is considering cuts following the new international student cap.
Fanshawe College reports significant budget impacts from enrolment limits.
Mohawk College projects a $50M deficit and anticipates layoffs due to visa restrictions.
Algonquin College foresees a $32M shortfall due to new rules for international students.
Camosun College announces layoffs due to the loss of tuition revenue.

Voices from the Community

It’s not just college leaders who are raising concerns; communities are starting to speak out too:

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce criticizes cuts to immigration targets, stressing the vital role of immigration in addressing labour shortages and driving economic growth.
The mayors of Fort St. John and Dawson Creek in British Columbia are condemning federal changes that cap the number of international post-secondary students accepted into the country.
The President and CEO of le Conseil du patronat du Québec (Quebec Employers Council) and the Director General of Éducation internationale warn that the PGWP reforms will deprive Quebec of a skilled workforce that is essential in key sectors.
Restaurants Canada expresses disappointment in the lack of consultation on recent changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker program.

A Unified Sector

One thing is certain: our sector stands united. As public institutions, we take the international student program’s stability, effectiveness, and integrity very seriously. Our members depend on it to deliver the training and skills local communities need to thrive, given demographic and labour market realities. While we support and continue to collaborate on efforts to manage its growth responsibly, harmful rhetoric and unpredictable policies must not destabilize postsecondary institutions or harm the communities they serve. We need thoughtful, deliberate, and predictable solutions paired with increased investment in our public institutions. Without this, Canada’s world-class postsecondary system is at risk, and the challenges facing our economy and communities will only grow.

Take Action

Take action by mobilizing your industry and community partners to support our message. Use the following template letters to engage your provincial and federal representatives and help amplify our collective voice:

Engage local businesses or industry partners: A letter from your college or institute to foster collaboration and support.
Advocate at the federal level: A letter for businesses to address IRCC Minister Marc Miller directly.

Related Publications

To learn more about these policy reforms and our position, please explore our previous publications:

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October 17, 2024

An Open Letter to Our Sector

Dear Presidents and Directors General,

I’m writing, today, to you and to your campus communities to share our concerns about the impact of recent federal immigration policy reforms on your communities, to echo your frustration with Ottawa, and to mobilize our sector around what is now at risk.

Yes, your concerns are legitimate. Ottawa’s one-size-fits-all approach to national workforce development ignores the needs of your communities, casts doubt on the quality of our public college system, damages our reputation as a country, threatens the future of public postsecondary education in Canada, and ultimately… hurts Canadians.

Since January, and even more so in recent weeks, we have stressed the need for measured and thoughtful policymaking that will help Canada achieve its goals of a well-managed immigration system while continuing to support the enrollment of international students in programs that meet the needs of local employers. Unfortunately, the post-graduate work permit policy changes as implemented by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) not only fail to meet this objective, but also deeply harm our ability to do so going forward.

This bad policy – or good policy gone wrong – prevents Canada from leveraging our public colleges and institutes to do what they do best.

Forcing public colleges and institutes to align their programming with national labour market standards represent a misunderstanding of the value we deliver for Canadians and employers across the country. The new eligibility restrictions also make a false distinction between the quality and relevance of college and university bachelor’s degrees approved by their provinces. To make matters worse, rolling out new policy changes without key details and with the wrong tools, makes it impossible for your incoming students to make informed decisions about their studies in Canada.

Colleges and Institutes Canada is your voice in Ottawa. We work with and for you to maximize our collective impact. In this case, we’re asking you to rally your campus communities to raise your voice to Ottawa.

In short, we need your support on the ground.

We need you to mobilize the business leaders that sit on your boards and program advisory committees, go to your community partners and your mayors, your provincial and federal members of Parliament and legislatures, and work with your campus leaders (your students, faculty, and staff) to get our message across.

That Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick and New Brunswick Community College – not Ottawa – best understand the labour needs of New Brunswick; that Red Deer Polytechnic has the long-established connections with employers in Red Deer – not Ottawa; that Vancouver Community College is best placed to align training with the specific needs of Vancouver businesses; that Confederation College and Cégep de Chicoutimi understand and meet the needs of the regions they serve – not Ottawa.

The collective strength of our network is our strongest asset to mobilize around correcting Ottawa’s misunderstanding of the value colleges and institutes deliver for Canadians. Unified action is critical at a time when your local communities are facing shortages of workers in critical sectors, and in a postsecondary system where colleges and institutes are already struggling to find the resources to best serve these same communities.

There is time to correct the flawed policy.

IRCC must work collaboratively with institutions, provinces and territories to develop a labour alignment framework that meets the needs of your communities and treat identical credentials – whether delivered by a college or university – in an identical manner. Until then, the policy reforms need to be put on hold.

I recently wrote a letter to Canadians encouraging them to help us show Ottawa how damage to Canadian colleges and institutes hurts their future. And to make it clear that the work you and your dedicated staff do matters. A lot.

Colleges and institutes deliver the skilled workers needed to build homes, to staff healthcare clinics and hospitals, and to provide early childhood education among many others. Public action and public reinvestment in our postsecondary education is essential for our collective future.

This isn’t a partisan issue; this is an every-Canadian issue. We need to work together: there’s too much at stake.

Sincerely,

Pari Johnston
President & CEO
Colleges and Institutes Canada

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October 1, 2024

Canada’s Research Ecosystem Must Drive Impact

By Pari Johnston, President & CEO, Colleges and Institutes Canada.

This op-ed was published by The Hill Times on September 25, 2024.

Canada’s research and innovation landscape is ready for an overhaul. For years, our public research and development spending has trailed behind other Group of Seven (G7) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and our track record in business innovation is sub-par. That means we’re missing out on realizing the full benefits of our research right here at home.

But here’s the good news: change is on the horizon. Last year’s Report on the Federal Research Support System (“the Bouchard Report”) made it clear that many of us in Canada’s research ecosystem need to reflect with purpose on what we’re trying to achieve. More recently, federal investments and the ongoing work to set up a new capstone research funding organization indicate a promising shift to a more strategic, multi- and interdisciplinary approach that mobilizes our research and innovation ecosystem to address the country’s – and the world’s – most pressing challenges.

It’s more important than ever that we reimagine our approach to meeting policy challenges and driving impact via our research ecosystem – and Canada’s colleges and institutes are uniquely placed to do so.

In 2021-2022, our sector worked on more than 8,000 applied research projects resulting in 6,500 new processes, products, and prototypes in areas like housing construction and advanced manufacturing, climate-smart agriculture and food production, and social innovation. That means things like developing a new prototype that can help a local business reduce waste – or testing the efficiency of a new insulated panel that can be used in modular housing construction. These are the real results that make Canadian businesses more efficient, competitive, and productive.

College and institute applied research is partner- and problem-driven innovation. Our cues come from the communities we serve, leading to on-the ground impact and improved technology adoption, adaptation, and integration. 

With 80% of projects completed in less than a year, it’s also innovation at the “speed of business”. And – importantly – with college-led research, 98% of industry partners are in Canada and keep their intellectual property.

The numbers tell us half the story. The other half is about how the impact, relevance, and reach of college and institute research translate into real benefits for Canadians and for the long-term sustainability of Canadian industry.

That impact is more important now than ever, with urgent demands to address our big public policy questions – things like providing sustainable and affordable housing, preparing for and preventing large natural disasters, designing cities and spaces that respect our environment, transitioning to clean energies. 

I am glad the Bouchard Report, the development of a new the capstone research organization, and new partnership opportunities with Horizon Europe have brought mission-driven research back into focus and, looking forward, I’m optimistic about the impact we can achieve.

Still, the college and institute sector currently only receives 2.9% of federal research funding from Tri-Council agencies. And many federal research programs, either in terms of institutional eligibility, funding restrictions, or the process by which successful applicants are determined, are not adequately attuned to the college and institute reality. That needs to be changed if we want to leverage the full potential of college applied research and maximize the impact of federal research dollars.

Innovation policy thinkers have advocated for a challenge-driven industrial strategy for Canada – and I think we need to also embrace a challenge-driven research approach to support this agenda. That means a fresh look at the role, value-add, capacities and connections of all research ecosystem partners to focus our efforts and resources on solving practical challenges facing communities, regions, and our country. This is precisely what colleges and institutes do best.

The future of Canada’s research ecosystem must also support historically excluded groups in conducting impact-oriented research. Challenge-driven research that capitalizes on college and institute applied research expertise, their networks of partners across sectors, and state-of-the-art facilities can – and should – be positioned one of Canada’s strongest motors for innovation by thinking purposefully about funding.

With a demand-driven approach, an ethos of collaboration, and expertise in knowledge translation and technology uptake by local industry partners, we can drive greater downstream impact of a challenge-driven research agenda in areas like housing, economic diversification in traditional sectors and innovative manufacturing.

Canada’s research ecosystem must be reimagined and redesigned in a way that drives impact for Canadians and Canadian businesses. The way to get there is through colleges and institutes.

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