November 6, 2026

The Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue has created a pathway for Inuit students in Nunavik who are interested in pursuing teaching training. The Inuktitut-language Bachelor in Preschool and Elementary Education will lead to a Bachelor’s degree in Education, enabling graduates to obtain a Québec teaching certificate. This pathway is tailored to the Northern context, and will allow students to pursue their education in their home territory. “Together with our Inuit partners, we dared to imagine a different path and dared to change the model, so that we could offer the same professional and academic options to Inuit students,” said UQAT Rector Vincent Rousson. “This vision is now a reality.”

Memorial University will be launching a co-operative Bachelor of Engineering in Mining and Mineral Processing engineering program. The program is supported by $2.225M from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and $3.9M from Vale Base Metals, which will also provide co-op work placements for future students. Memorial President Dr Janet Morrison called the proposed program a “concrete and timely” example of the university’s commitment to the province’s economic future, adding that the support of partners was crucial to the establishment of the program. The program is expected to welcome its first students in Fall 2027.

McGill University’s Athletics and Recreation Strategic Planning Task Force has recommended that the university reinstate its track and field program, which was cut last year. The task force developed a five-year strategic plan informed by consultations with student-athletes, coaches, and other interested parties. It recommended bringing back the men’s and women’s track and field teams and is recommending that McGill regularly review its teams and establish an “evidence-based varsity sport framework to guide future decisions.” If the task force’s plan is approved by McGill’s senate and board of governors, it will be implemented starting in the spring.

Laurentian University has received a joint $4.3M investment from the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario towards creating a new Interprofessional Health Simulation Centre. This bilingual centre will contain simulation laboratory space for students in health fields including nursing, speech-language pathology, and kinesiology, and will be outfitted with true-to-life mannikins and upgraded technology. The centre will also support telehealth training. “Access to trained health care professionals such as nurses and therapists is a real barrier in northern Ontario,” explained Government of Canada Member of Parliament Viviane Lapointe. “This advanced training centre will help us attract and train health care professionals in our region.”

Assiniboine College officially unveiled its Price Mechatronics Centre, home of the college’s new Mechatronics Engineering Technology program. The centre contains three specialized labs for mechatronics, electronics, and robotics and process control, respectively, along with equipment to support hands-on learning. Assiniboine Academic Chair Jeremy Timmer explained that the centre contributes to solving a pressing need in the industry: “I genuinely believe that as more and more companies leverage automation for success — which almost all do now in manufacturing — it’s going to become such a vacancy if we don’t do something to help increase that knowledge amongst employees entering the workforce.”

Western University has launched the Western Autonomous and Intelligent Systems Hub, which will provide a space to develop and test new technologies. The hub brings researchers from Western’s engineering and science faculties together to solve problems related to autonomous systems. “Through shared facilities and research platforms, we are creating the conditions for sustained collaboration across faculties and with industry partners,” said Western Provost and VP (Academic) Florentine Strzelczyk. “This hub puts that vision into practice, connecting expertise and giving students opportunities to help turn discoveries into real-world solutions.”

Women in academia are more likely to leave academia, and more often cite feeling devalued relative to men, according to a new US study. The study focuses on current and former tenured and tenure-track faculty at PhD-granting institutions in the US. The authors found that the feeling of devaluation was the most distinctly gendered topic among categorized responses, with women reporting these feelings 3.4 times as often as men. The authors also found that women reported feeling the need to meet higher expectations with fewer resources than men and not feeling valued as people, and that a lack of institutional response contributed to these negative feelings. As potential solutions, the authors recommend that institutions commit to organizational change and administrators implement concrete processes to address devaluation.

Dalhousie University and the Institut national de la recherche scientifique have each established new chairs. Dal’s Schulich School of Law has established the Dr Edgar Gold Chair in Maritime Law and Global Trade. This chair will advance the Marine & Environmental Law Institute’s mission and provide leadership in areas such as maritime law and trade. At INRS, two new chairs at the Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications will support energy and digital transitions in Quebec. The Chaire INRS en calcul photonique ultrarapide will explore how the energy consumption of AI technologies can be reduced, while the Chaire INRS en matériaux multifonctionnels pour l’énergie durable et l’environnement will focus on the transition to clean and reliable energy systems.

York University has received $800K from the Embark Student Foundation to support its EmpowerAbility career transition initiative. This investment will fund new initiatives for the program, including experience matching, digital skills literacy micro-credentials, wage subsidies for experiential learning, and a Disability Confidence and Neuro-Inclusive Employer training series. The program will also be extended across YorkU’s three campuses. “This investment gives us the opportunity to think beyond individual programs and build a more connected pathway for students with disabilities – from their start at York through experiential learning, co-op and other employment opportunities,” said YorkU Vice-Provost Students Yvette Munro.

In Québec, the Parti Québécois has promised to extend Bill 101 to cegeps, a move which would keep Francophones and allophones from attending English-language cegeps. La Presse reports that though this was the flagship commitment of the new government, the three opposition parties are against it, halting its adoption. The article details the responses of the three opposition parties, whose spokespeople called for the Parti Québécois to collaborate and indicated that they would ensure the bill does not move forward.