Tariffs, future of education top concerns for Ontario NDP leader, in Waterloo region as part of tour
'There's no surprise that post-secondary institutions are hurting,' Marit Stiles says
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles says she's worried about what colleges and universities will look like this fall when students are ready to return to class.
She said that with the cap on international students and concerns being raised about funding, "there's no surprise that post-secondary institutions are hurting."
"I'm hearing certainly from students across the province who are seeing the programs that they have been registered in or that they had hopes for one day taking being cut," Stiles told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition guest host, Josette Lafleur.
"What I'm also hearing though, interestingly, is employers are very concerned because a lot of the programs that we're seeing cut, particularly in the college sector, are directly linked to the kinds of needs that we have for workers in communities."
Bianca Giacoboni, the press secretary for Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security Nolan Quinn, said in an email to CBC News that operating grants to colleges and universities are estimated to increase in 2025 and 2026 to $5.8 billion, which represents an increase of eight per cent over last year and an increase of 12 per cent over 2023-24.
"The province is consistently increasing funding for the sector, not cutting it," Giacoboni wrote.
Stiles is on a summer tour around the province and was in Waterloo region on Monday. She hosted a roundtable with college and university students at the University of Waterloo, and told CBC News that concerns around education are among the top issues she's hearing as she goes from community to community.
Earlier this month, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union said close to 10,000 college and faculty staff have been let go or are projected to lose their jobs as colleges cancel programs due to dwindling enrolment. The union that represents support staff at Conestoga College says at least 180 staff are facing layoffs.
Both the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University have been saying since 2023 that they are facing a financial crunch. The universities are not permitted to increase tuition fees for in-province students until at least the fall of 2026.
'People are nervous'
Also on her tour, Stiles said the Aug. 1 deadline for coming to a deal with the U.S. is on the minds of a lot of people.
In the past week, the U.S. has announced new agreements setting baseline tariffs on the European Union and Japan. U.S President Donald Trump has said Canada could face 35 per cent tariffs on some goods as of Friday.
"Without question people are nervous, anxious about Donald Trump's tariff threats. That is definitely top of mind," she said. "Every community, every sector, whether you're talking about farming and agriculture or tech or steel or auto workers."

Corrections
- This story has been updated as the Ontario government says it is increasing operating grants to colleges and universities in 2025-26 to $5.8 billion, an increase of 8 per cent over last year and an increase of 12 per cent over the 2023-24 school year.Jul 29, 2025 8:13 PM EDT