30 programs cut by Algonquin College a difficult blow to students

Students and faculty were shocked when decisions to cut 30 more programs at Algonquin College came to light.

Posted Mar 3, 2026 03:58:25 PM.

Last Updated Mar 4, 2026 01:45:36 PM.

Algonquin College’s Board of Directors decided unanimously to cancel seven programs and suspend 23 others, with the intent to cut later, at a Monday evening meeting.

According to Avery Clark, whose program of horticulture is on the axing list, the meeting was extremely upsetting as she watched the board try to explain why the cuts were needed.

“They espouse all these college values of sustainability while cutting their environmental programs, and they talk about how much they care about people in the arts, and most of the programs getting cut are for the arts…Watching them, they were just very heartless and cold,” she told CityNews in an interview.

The cuts made will take effect for fall 2026, meaning no students can apply for the programs. Students currently enrolled and admitted for spring 2026 will be allowed to complete their schooling.

“I recognize this is difficult news for many in our community. The decision reflects the college’s current financial realities and is in no way a reflection of the dedication of those who teach and support our learners every day,” a memo sent to CityNews in an email reads from Julie Beauchamp, Senior Vice President, Academic.

The memo touches on the changing landscape for colleges and how it has “shifted significantly.”

“Volatility in both domestic and international enrolment, combined with structural funding pressures and rising delivery costs, has created financial challenges that cannot be addressed through incremental adjustments alone,” Beauchamp said.

Post-secondary institutions across the country had to cut their budgets in 2025 due to a drop in revenue from international students’ tuition, which tends to be four to five times higher than fees paid by domestic students. The federal government plans to get the number of temporary residents down to five per cent of Canada’s population by the end of 2027.

Students in the gardens as part of their courses. (Contributed)

Beauchamp said that the recent announcements in post-secondary investment are welcome. The Ford government made dramatic changes to students in February when it gave institutions a multi-billion-dollar boost while also lifting a tuition fee freeze and cutting back on financial assistance grants.

Ontario universities and colleges have long faced low levels of government funding, stagnant tuition levels since 2019, and colleges in particular increasingly turned to international student tuition revenue to stabilize finances after the government cut tuition fees froze them at that level seven years ago.

“The reality we face is that a growing number of programs are operating with structural, ongoing deficits, while the number of programs generating surplus contribution to offset those losses is shrinking,” Beauchamp said.

She also notes the college will be focusing on priority areas like health, trades and technology, which the “province had identified as critical to Ontario’s workforce.”

Students feel ‘melancholic’ over decision

But for Clark and thousands of students like her, the changes to their schooling are coming at a cost. Part of the anger for Clark is how the school was trying to quietly cut the programs, leaving students in the dark.

“They were just shifting the blame and crying crocodile tears,” she said of the board meeting on March 2.

Speaking to CityNews, Clark said after a month of fighting and organizing to keep her program off the list, she feels “melancholic.”

“They’re all really special programs, but horticulture is a really special program, and there’s really there’s nothing else like it in the region,” she said.

The program teaches students through a condensed course how to work with plants, while building walkways, patios, working in greenhouses and nurseries, and setting them up for careers in urban agriculture and landscaping. The horticulture program at Algonquin College was the only one in eastern Ontario and one of approximately 20 offered across the country.

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Clark was drawn to the program because she loves being outside and working with her hands, something she says brings her joy and fulfillment.

“I think good things like beauty and nature, they’re meant to be shared,” she said.

The greenhouse on the campus offers a place of serenity for students and staff, a moment for them to pause and be close to nature during stressful times.

But it’s more than that, Clark said, the horticulture students are often picked up before graduation by the landscaping industry.

“We’re a pretty tight group in horticulture, but we banded together to raise hell trying to save our program,” Clark said. “We weren’t alone. We had industry, politicians, organizations, the student body, the faculty, the entire city with us, advocating for us. The board didn’t care.”

Full list of programs suspended by Algonquin College

Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence (ACCE)

Sustainable Architectural Design
Horticultural Industries
Horticulture Techniques – Apprenticeship

Pembroke Campus

Business (Program still offered at the Ottawa Campus and AC Online)
Business Fundamentals (Program still offered at the Ottawa Campus and AC Online)
Computer Programming (Program still offered at the Ottawa Campus and AC Online)
Environmental Management and Assessment (Program still offered at the Ottawa Campus)

School of Advanced Technology (SAT)