photo credit: Carleton University
The $205-million allocation is part of the province’s $1.7-billion plan to add more than 70,000 seats in STEM, health, education and trades.
The Ontario government says it is spending $205 million to fund 7,574 additional seats at the University of Ottawa, Carleton University and Collège La Cité, in programs it says lead to in-demand careers.
The Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security made the announcement Friday. The Ottawa funding is part of a $1.7-billion provincial commitment to fund more than 70,000 new seats at publicly assisted colleges and universities in STEM, health care, education and the skilled trades. The province calls it the largest post-secondary seat expansion in Ontario in more than a decade.
Where the seats are going
The University of Ottawa receives the largest share, with 4,128 seats. That includes 2,494 in STEM programs, 1,319 in health programs and 315 in education programs.
Carleton University receives 2,328 seats, with 1,220 in STEM, 281 in health and 827 in what the province calls other labour-market-driven programs.
Collège La Cité, which describes itself as Ontario’s largest French-language college, receives 1,118 seats. They are spread across STEM (276), health (272), education (178), trades (163) and other labour-market-driven programs (229).
How the seats were awarded
The province announced the first 30,000 seats in May 2026 and opened a call for proposals for the remaining 40,000. Colleges and universities submitted “Priority Growth Plans” outlining their strengths, regional economic trends, local labour needs and student demand. The ministry says it judged proposals on institutional capacity, local industry needs and student demand, and that it received more than 1,000 letters of support from employers.
The seat funding falls under a broader $6.4-billion post-secondary funding model. The province says that model will raise annual operating funding for colleges, universities and Indigenous Institutes to $7 billion, a 30 per cent increase and the highest level in Ontario’s history. It also includes $57 million for Indigenous Institutes, $33 million of which will go toward up to 780 new seats.
What they’re saying
Minister Nolan Quinn said the province’s workforce is its greatest strength and that the expansion “will ensure more students have the opportunity to train for good-paying careers.”
University of Ottawa president Marie-Eve Sylvestre welcomed the investment, pointing to uOttawa’s role as Canada’s only bilingual research-intensive university.
Carleton president Wisdom Tettey said the expansion will create opportunities for more students to access the university’s education, pointing to Carleton’s history in fields from engineering and computer science to emerging areas like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and data science.
Collège La Cité president Dr. Lynn Casimiro said the college has “an important role to play in strengthening the province’s bilingual workforce.”
Glengarry–Prescott–Russell MPP Stéphane Sarrazin called the funding an important step for students in his riding and across Eastern Ontario.
Quotes in this story were provided in a provincial government news release.
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