Northern projects $6M operational deficit, announces plans to reduce staff compliment

Northern College is projecting a $6M operational deficit for 2025-26 and a $12M deficit for 2026-27. To address the deficits, Northern has announced plans to cut costs by improving efficiencies and reducing staff. It has accordingly implemented early retirement and exit incentives and will soon issue layoff notices. “This was an incredibly difficult decision for us to make,” said Northern President Mitch Dumas. Dumas explained that “the combination of existing funding models, reduced international recruitment numbers, and growing costs due to inflation” were driving factors behind the deficits. CBC reports that in 2021-22, nearly 80% of Northern’s students were international.