Students falling behind as Ontario’s high tuition fees increase again: NDP

Students are paying the price as the cost of post-secondary education in Ontario climbs even higher, says Peggy Sattler, Ontario NDP Critic for Training, Colleges and Universities.

According to new data released this morning by Statistics Canada, undergraduate and graduate students in Ontario face the highest average tuition fees in Canada. Over the past year, average undergraduate tuition in Ontario has increased by 4 percent to $7,868, far higher than the national average. Average graduate tuition is also the highest in Ontario at $8,971 for the new academic year.

 

“Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals are letting Ontario’s students fall further behind as the cost of higher education grows out of reach for families,” said Sattler, MPP for London West. “Every year that the Liberals increase the cost of education is another year that students and their families are forced to pay the price.”

Without any change in the Liberal government’s policies, new research from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives estimates that undergraduate tuition and compulsory fees in Ontario will continue to climb to more than $9,500 by 2018. Costs to Ontario students have already increased by 248 percent since 1993, five times faster than the rate of inflation. 

“The fact is that young Ontarians face high tuition fees, growing debt loads, and job opportunities that are too few and far between,” said Sattler. “By making university education less affordable and less accessible, this Liberal government is forcing more and more students to rely on food banks and putting the next generation of the middle class in peril. Liberal tuition policies are creating real barriers to participation in higher education  – another sign that Kathleen Wynne is catering to her small group of powerful friends.”

“Ontario’s New Democrats know that our province only grows when families can get ahead. Access to post-secondary education is a crucial tool to help students think critically and acquire the skills they need to reach their potential. That’s why New Democrats will continue to stand with students and their families to work for more affordable and accessible post-secondary education in Ontario.”