Mohawk Burlington campus still in the works as college faces $50M deficit, major layoffs

Mohawk College is facing a $50-million deficit and imminent layoffs, as changes to federal policies have limited the number of international students accepted into Canada’s colleges and universities. 

Mohawk College expects to layoff between 200 and 400 staff from all levels of the college, including administration, support staff and faculty.

But even with the deficit and layoffs, Mohawk College spokesperson Bill Steinburg says the school is going ahead with plans to open another campus in Burlington. 

The new Burlington campus was announced last July. The college did not specify what programs will be available, but said the campus will support Mohawk College’s School of Climate Action, provide education to combat continuing shortages in Ontario’s healthcare system and provide training in skilled trades and technology. 

Steinburg said the school is not offering interviews, but shared information on the upcoming changes with FlamboroughToday. 

“There remains a need for greater capacity to grow in program areas that are in high demand,” Steinburg said in an email. 

Federal and provincial policy changes in recent months have resulted in Ontario admitting 60 per cent fewer international students into its colleges and universities, according to a memo from Mohawk College President Paul Armstrong. Numbers provided by the college show a drop in enrolments from 2023 to 2024. 

• International students enrolled in Fall 2023: 7,309 
• International students enrolled in Fall 2024: 6,166
• Total students enrolled in Fall 2024: 14,694

These numbers represent students enrolled in a section, not individual students. Steinburg notes that because of the three-semester structure of the school year, these numbers represent about half of the total population of the school. 

International student cap, limited work permits put school into deficit

Along with the cap on international student ernrolments, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has put limitations on Post Graduate Work Permits, also known as PGWPs, which gives international students the opportunity to work in Canada after they graduate. The IRCC has limited the PGWP options to programs that feed into labour market shortages. 

With a cap on enrolment and limited options to work in Canada following graduation, Armstrong said, Mohawk College is facing cutbacks sooner than it thought it would. 

“These changes will have a much greater impact on enrolments than we initially anticipated, and that means we will need to make difficult decisions much sooner than we expected,” he wrote to staff and faculty on Oct. 30. 

Armstrong wrote that the college will face financial challenges past the next fiscal year. 

Tuesday, Nov. 19 was the deadline for Mohawk instructors to apply for a retirement package before the layoffs at the college begin. Steinburg wrote that the college has around 1,200 full time staff and 1,250 part time staff, depending on the time of year. 

Mohawk College has released the programs eligible for PGWP’s on its website. The list includes computer science programs, programs in the health field, graphic design, pharmacy programs and early childhood education, among others. 

Armstrong said the programs not included in the list on the school’s website will be most affected by the international student restrictions. 

While some programs at Mohawk College do not accept international students, the deficit the school is heading into has sparked a review of all of the school’s programs.

For perspective, Mohawk College offers 158 programs. Last year, 130 of those programs were eligible for PGWPs — with the new restrictions, only 41 programs are now eligible. 

In the past few years, Mohawk College has put a pause on several programs, including the Journalism Advanced Diploma program in June 2023, the Applied Music Ontario College Advanced Diploma in November 2023 and a stream of its Office Administration program. 

The program review, Armstrong wrote, is “part of our efforts to reduce expenses and ensure that the programs we offer are current, relative and responsive to employer and workforce needs.”