Executive Summary
Ontario’s colleges were founded to train Canadians for meaningful jobs in health care, trades, and community services. But over the past decade, many — including Loyalist College in Belleville — became dependent on international tuition and private college partnerships. Professors and administrators now draw six-figure salaries while communities face campus closures and shrinking access to in-demand programs.
From Workforce Builders to Diploma Mills
Ontario colleges were designed in the 1960s to train workers for the jobs of tomorrow. Loyalist College once played that role for Belleville and the Bay of Quinte region. But like many peers, it pivoted toward international students, building a business model that resembled a diploma mill. Generic business, IT, and hospitality programs multiplied, not because Ontario needed them, but because they attracted high tuition from abroad. This dependence on foreign students was profitable — until Ottawa imposed visa caps in 2024. Now, the foundation is crumbling. Georgian’s Orillia campus is gone. Loyalist and others face the same exposure.
The federal government’s cap
The federal government’s cap on international student visas has exposed this model as unsustainable. Georgian College’s Orillia campus is closing. Loyalist, which relied on international/PCPP revenues for more than 60% of its income in 2023–24, is also under pressure. Salaries and overhead continue to climb, while new campus projects and costly administrative systems add financial strain.
The data support the thesis: Loyalist and peers optimized for international/PCPP dollars and layered on capital and administrative investments that made sense only if the international spigot stayed open. With IRCC caps and PCPP unwinds, the business plan must realign to domestic, in-demand programs (health, trades, ECE) and lower fixed costs, or the College will keep trading core mission for short-term cash.
If colleges don’t return to their core mission — equipping Canadians with the skills local employers actually need — closures and cuts will continue. The numbers tell a clear story: Ontario’s colleges lost their way.
Loyalist’s Revenue Model
Loyalist’s own financials confirm how international students drove its growth:
- In 2023–24, international tuition plus PCPP (private-college partnerships) generated $101.5 million, or over 60% of total revenue.
- Total revenue was $168.9 million in 2024, with $51.2 million from tuition and $76 million from contracted services (largely PCPP).
- Net contribution from “non-core” funds (Enveloped, Entrepreneurial, Ancillary, including PCPP) was $11.1 million in 2023–24, projected to fall to $10.9 million in 2024–25.
When Ottawa capped international permits, Loyalist’s most lucrative revenue stream was directly hit.
Where spending looks questionable
While executives and professors draw six-figure salaries, students are crammed into underserviced programs and communities lose out on the workforce Ontario actually needs. Employers struggle to fill nursing, trades, and ECE roles while colleges continue to pump out generic diplomas for international students — many of whom face bleak job prospects here after graduation. The collapse of the Orillia campus shows the system was fragile all along. These aren’t strategic institutions anymore; they’re businesses that got addicted to international tuition and neglected their core mission.
- Port Hope campus timing: Loyalist opened a new campus pathway but only enrolled 90 students across five programs in Fall 2023; construction delays meant instruction ran at a temporary site while renovations continued and a new residence came online. That’s a lot of up-front cost for very small initial enrollment—and the new reality is fewer international permits. Loyalist College
- System/overhead build-outs: The Annual Report highlights a new HRIS (12-month implementation) and ongoing EDI/Institutional Effectiveness expansions; the Business Plan notes amortization and operating costs are up while revenues are volatile. Sensible initiatives in normal times, but they add fixed cost just as the College loses enrollment elasticity. Loyalist College
Ontario’s own public accounts and sector summaries note that college revenue growth in recent years was “primarily due to higher tuition from international students and private partnerships.” The 2024-25 shock was foreseeable: when one revenue pillar dominates, policy changes cascade directly into deficits, cuts, and campus contractions. Ontario
Net effect: Loyalist’s cash cushion shrank sharply while fixed costs and amortization climbed—right as the federal cap hit its largest revenue streams.
What Needs to Change
If Loyalist and other colleges want to regain credibility, they must:
- Refocus programs on local labour shortages — health care, trades, early childhood education.
- Rein in salary inflation, ensuring taxpayer money isn’t subsidizing bloated payrolls.
- Increase transparency about how international tuition dollars are spent.
- Work with local employers to align training with real job needs.
Ontario colleges were meant to be the bridge between young people and good jobs. Instead, they became diploma mills dependent on foreign students, with executives and professors cashing in. If nothing changes, closures like Georgian Orillia’s won’t be the exception — they’ll be the beginning of a much larger collapse.
Loyalist’s Numbers Tell the Story
Revenues now ride on international/PCPP
Loyalist’s 2024-25 Business Plan spells it out: in 2023-24, gross revenue from the public-college/private-partnership (PCPP) plus international student tuition totaled just over $101.5 million—“more than 60% of the College’s total gross revenue.” That revenue stream is “directly impacted” by the 2024 IRCC caps on international students. Loyalist College
In the 2024 audited financials (year ended Mar. 31, 2024), Loyalist reports $168.9 million total revenue, up modestly year-over-year. The big lines are tuition and fees ($51.23 M) and contracted services/other ($75.99 M)—the latter is where PCPP activity is captured in the statements. Loyalist College
The College also acknowledges that its three “non-core” funds—Enveloped, Entrepreneurial and Ancillary (which include PCPP)—contributed $11.1 M net in the 2023-24 budget and were projected at $10.9 M net for 2024-25 as PCPP winds down. Loyalist College
Takeaway: Loyalist’s top line became heavily dependent on international/PCPP revenue. When Ottawa tightened study permits, the model shook.
Cost structure: salary pressure is real (and rising)
Loyalist notes that salary and benefits comprised ~two-thirds of non-PCPP expenses in 2023-24, and that the Bill 124 court ruling forced retroactive wage adjustments—some exceeding 7.5% year-over-year against pre-Bill-124 rates. Loyalist College
The data support the thesis: Loyalist and peers optimized for international/PCPP dollars and layered on capital and administrative investments that made sense only if the international spigot stayed open. With IRCC caps and PCPP unwinds, the business plan must realign to domestic, in-demand programs (health, trades, ECE) and lower fixed costs, or the College will keep trading core mission for short-term cash.
The audited statements show salaries and wages jumped to $55.6 M (from $46.7 M), and benefits to $13.64 M (from $10.48 M) in 2024—clear evidence of escalating personnel costs. Loyalist College
Balance sheet stress and capital bets
Two datapoints stand out in the 2024 audit:
- Cash collapsed from $53.83 M to $13.69 M year-over-year, while
- Tangible capital assets rose from $63.91 M to $79.73 M (an ~$15.8 M increase). Loyalist College
The Business Plan also flags higher amortization because of “continued capital investment,” confirming the College was still putting money into facilities and equipment as the international environment tightened. Loyalist College
In-Depth Analysis
Following the Money
Ontario’s Sunshine List shows how money has flowed into salaries at Loyalist and Georgian:
| College | Name / Role | 2024–25 Salary (CAD) |
|---|---|---|
| Loyalist College | President & CEO | $287,072.41 |
| Sr. VP, Strategic Planning | $217,209.76 | |
| Jeremy Laurin – Sr. VP, Strategy & Transformation | $214,400.92 | |
| Sr. Director, Finance | $212,126.54 | |
| Sr. VP Academic | $204,341.51 | |
| Exec. Dir., Indigenous Initiatives | $186,288.40 | |
| Multiple Professors | $150,000–$170,000+ | |
| Georgian College | President & CEO | $334,430.68 |
| Associate Vice President | $249,812.41 | |
| Several Vice Presidents | $249,000–$250,000+ |
(Source: Ontario Public Sector Salary Disclosure, 2024–25)
Professors now routinely earn $150,000–$170,000, while presidents are compensated at levels approaching $300,000–$350,000. These numbers dwarf the salaries of many municipal CAOs and even provincial cabinet ministers.
Rising Costs and Salary Pressures
Expenses climbed even as revenue risks grew:
- Salaries jumped to $55.6 million in 2024 (from $46.7 M in 2023).
- Benefits rose to $13.6 million (from $10.5 M).
- Post-Bill 124 retroactive wage adjustments raised pay by as much as 7.5% year-over-year.
- Salaries and benefits now consume two-thirds of Loyalist’s non-PCPP costs.
Questionable Investments
At the same time, Loyalist spent aggressively on capital and overhead:
- Cash dropped from $53.8 million to $13.7 million year-over-year.
- Capital assets grew by $15.8 million, up to $79.7 million.
- New systems and administrative expansions — including a new HRIS and EDI/Institutional Effectiveness build-outs — increased amortization and overhead.
The Port Hope campus highlights the risks of poor timing. Opened in Fall 2023, it enrolled just 90 students across five programs, while instruction ran in a temporary site due to construction delays. A new residence was also added. This is heavy investment for a tiny initial cohort, right as international permits shrink.
The Real Cost of Mission Drift
The numbers show the cost of straying from the core mission:
- Over 60% of revenues tied to international students and PCPP deals.
- Salaries and overhead rising faster than revenues.
- New campus projects launched without stable enrollment foundations.
- Communities like Orillia already losing access to local campuses.
The irony is sharp: Ontario faces dire shortages of nurses, tradespeople, and early childhood educators. Colleges like Loyalist were built to meet those needs, but chose instead to chase tuition volume.
What Needs to Change
To survive and serve their communities, Ontario colleges must:
- Refocus on programs that match local labour shortages (health care, trades, ECE).
- Rein in salary and administrative bloat.
- Publish transparent reports showing how international revenues are spent.
- Partner with municipalities and employers on strategic, not speculative, campus expansions.
Conclusion
Ontario’s colleges became addicted to international tuition and private partnerships, inflating payrolls and drifting away from their mandate. Now the visa cap has revealed just how fragile this model is. Loyalist and others must return to their roots: preparing Canadians for the jobs that actually exist in their communities.
If they don’t, closures like Georgian Orillia’s will be only the beginning.