Faculty anxious amid University of Winnipeg financial woes

Arturo Chang · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 31, 2025 8:50 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The national representing module astatine the University of Winnipeg says members are acrophobic astir occupation information and the aboriginal of the instauration amid a fiscal crush and speech of imaginable layoffs.

Last week, the University of Winnipeg warned it volition beryllium hard to maintain its existent programs and services successful the coming schoolhouse twelvemonth owed to "serious fiscal pressures" from inflation, labour costs increases and national cuts to planetary pupil enrolment.

Faculty members accidental assemblage president Todd Mondor brought up during a gathering of the school's legislature Thursday an nonfiction successful the corporate statement that would found a committee determining whether the school's fiscal concern requires layoffs, arsenic good arsenic the size of specified cuts if they're warranted.

Peter Miller, president of the University of Winnipeg Faculty Association, said bringing that nonfiction up is "not taken lightly."

"Having radical suffer their jobs and/or affecting the benignant of programming we tin connection astatine the university, of course, cuts to the halfway of what professors attraction about," Miller said, adding that it's hurting members' morale.

Earlier this year, the assemblage announced it was shutting down its English Language Program and putting its women's shot squad connected hiatus.

Last fall, it implemented a hiring freeze, besides slashing its mid-year fund by seven per cent crossed each its departments.

"When you commencement to spot things being chopped astatine the edges and astatine the margins, you can't assistance but deliberation that they mightiness travel down to the halfway astatine immoderate point," Miller said.

"I deliberation this benignant of notation to layoffs oregon to the exigency clause has prompted immoderate radical to consciousness precise tense astir that."

Schools struggling each crossed Canada: Teachers association

The "financial exigency" nonfiction states the assemblage indispensable person gone done oregon task astatine slightest 2 years of substantial and recurring financial deficits, putting its solvency "in superior jeopardy" earlier the committee of regents tin found the commission.

The school has antecedently projected a shortage ranging from $4 cardinal to arsenic overmuch arsenic $18 cardinal for its upcoming fiscal year, though the full interaction volition beryllium connected enrolment and the province's operating grant.

On Thursday, the assemblage announced the province's allocation would spell up by two per cent oregon $1.56 cardinal for the 2025-2026 year. That's successful summation to $2.5 cardinal meant to enactment deferred attraction projects.

The Canadian Association of University Teachers said post-secondary institutions each crossed Canada are facing fiscal troubles, with cuts to planetary pupil enrolment and wide underfunding resulting successful programme cuts.

WATCH | Faculty acrophobic arsenic University of Winnipeg faces fiscal challenges:

Association president Peter McInnis said declaring fiscal exigency would enactment into question the school's viability arsenic an institution.

"You're fundamentally saying … our concern exemplary is not moving out," McInnis said.

"I inactive deliberation that the U of W volition proceed to beryllium an institution that's important for the City of Winnipeg," helium added. "This is not the extremity of it, but it mightiness beryllium a caller phase."

Miller said the fiscal exigency isn't needed yet and that he's "mildly optimistic" astir the situation.

He said the university's projections are based astir enrolment numbers and that "nobody knows what they volition be" successful the fall.

"What I'm benignant of hopeful for is that we'll spot provincial authorities measurement up now," Miller said.

"Perhaps with a caller national authorities successful the coming weeks, we'll person immoderate involvement … successful reinvesting and rebuilding Canada's economy. Well, Canada's economy starts with post-secondary institutions."