Algoma University has eliminated 86 support positions to address a $16.45 million projected deficit. Union leader Michelle Dayboll warns that these cuts to IT, custodial, and student-success roles are jeopardizing essential campus services.

The $16.45 million gap and the 10,000-student slide

Algoma University is facing a severe financial crisis driven by a dramatic collapse in its student population. According to the report,the institution's full-time equivalent student count plummeted from 13,600 in the 2023-24 academic year to an estimated 3,292. This sharp decline has left the university grappling with a projected deficit of $16.45 million for the current fiscal year.

To mitigate these losses, the administration reduced its support-staff cohort by 40 percent. The workforce, which previously exceeded 200 employees across three campuses, has been trimmed to approximately 130. Michelle Dayboll, president of the OSSTF/FEESO AUSS chapter, notes that while lower enrolment may reduce some workloads, the scale of the layoffs has left certain student services effectively non-existent.

How federal 2024 admission caps crippled Algoma's revenue

The financial instability at Algoma University is a direct result of broader regulatory shifts in Canadian higher education. The report says the enrolment drop is largely attributed to federal government caps on new international student admissions introduced in 2024 . This policy move severed a critical revenue stream that many Canadian institutions had come to rely upon for operational stability.

Former interim president Sheila Embleton previously characterized this as a "nation-wide financial stress" during an April budget briefing. Embleton noted that the federal restrictions on international enrolments compounded existing funding constraints within provincial streams,creating a systemic crisis that extends beyond Algoma University to the wider higher-education landscape.

The $45-million Makwa Waakaa'igan building vs. operational reserves

A central point of contention for the OSSTF/FEESO AUSS union is the university's decision to prioritize infrastructure over personnel. Michelle Dayboll highlighted that Algoma University continues to fund major capital projects, specifically the $45-million Makwa Waakaa'igan building,even as it guts frontline staff. The union argues that the university was willing to use surpluses for this construction project but is now refusing to tap into those same reserves to maintain everyday operations.

This disparity suggests a strategic choice by the board to protect capital assets while treating salary costs as an expendable expense. By refusing to use reserve funds for operational salaries, the university has shifted the burden of the deficit onto the support staff,leading to critical gaps in IT troubleshooting and classroom support.

A 1:1 manager-to-staff ratio and the missing transparency

The union has raised alarms regarding a growing imbalance between the university's leadership and its frontline workers. as the support-staff count settles around 130—a level not seen since 2019—management positions have reportedly not been reduced at a similar rate. dayboll warns that the ratio of managers to staff could approach one-to-one, a structure that she believes will erode employee morale and hinder collaborative decision-making.

Several critical questions remain unanswered by the university administration.. Specifically, it is unclear why management roles were shielded from the cuts that hit support staff so heavily, and the university has not detailed the exact criteria used to determine which "essential" services could be eliminated. The OSSTF/FEESO AUSS is currently calling for a transparent review of the layoff process to determine if the reductions were truly proportionate to the fiscal reality.