April 15, 2026

Campus Manitoba will be closing its doors at the end of June. The organization has provided Manitoba’s postsecondary landscape with support for distance education and career planning for the past 35 years. The decision to close was made in response to changes in funding from the Government of Manitoba. Campus Manitoba says that the tools and connections that it created will continue to provide value after it closes, and that it will work with its communities to decide on the path forward.

The Government of Canada has announced a combined $1M in funding through the tri-council agencies to support Canadian French-language research in the 2025–26 fiscal year. This funding will be administered through SSHRC ($400K), NSERC ($350K), and CIHR ($250K) to projects that support research in French, train Francophone scientists, and produce and distribute research on the Francophonie and other issues relevant to Francophone communities. “By directly supporting the next generation of Francophone scientists, we’re helping build more diverse academic and community environments, where language is not a barrier to innovation, but an engine for the creation, collaboration and sharing of essential knowledge,” said Federal Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller.

British Columbia’s vehicle insurer ICBC has announced $13.3M in funding for apprenticeship grants to prepare more workers for the field of collision repair. Employers can receive up to $56.5K in funding per automotive refinishing or auto body and collision repair technician apprenticeship to cover the costs related to their employment. A variety of grants are available, including grants based on the training level completed by the apprentice, grants for Indigenous or women applicants, and grants for alternative pathways to the field. Automotive Retailers Association Board Chair Rick Hatswell explained that there is a strong demand for skilled collision repair workers as vehicles become increasingly complex. ICBC President Jason McDaniel added that more collision repair workers will help reduce repair wait times for customers.

The Government of Ontario recently introduced the Putting Student Achievement First Act, 2026, which contains important considerations for the postsecondary sector. The legislation is focused on tightening oversight and accountability at K–12 school boards while ensuring more consistent learning experiences, such as introducing mandatory written exams on official exam days to prepare students for postsecondary pursuits. In its Quick Facts section, ON also notes the introduction of stringent performance metrics to its Strategic Mandate Agreements (SMAs) and indicated that it is proposing to move the accountability and performance mandate of the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) into the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security.

Roger Pizarro Milian (University of Toronto) and David Zarifa (Nipissing University) have published a study exploring the hierarchical structure of various postsecondary institutions. Pizarro Milian and Zarifa explain that Canadian universities are generally viewed as having a relatively flat hierarchy, performing roughly equal in prestige and reputation. To explore whether this is true among non-university postsecondary institutions, the authors use social media followers as a proxy for status. They examined social media accounts of over 600 institutions including theological institutes, private career colleges, and community colleges and used follower counts as a proxy to determine structural stratification. The authors found that private career colleges exhibited high levels of inequality, while stratification is much more flat among theological schools and community colleges. They discuss some of the mechanisms that drive these trends.

Thompson Rivers University and Universidad EIA (EIA) in Colombia have created a pathway for EIA Bachelor of Management Engineering students to enter one of three TRU master’s programs this Fall. The agreement allows eligible EIA graduates to pursue further education at TRU’s Bob Gaglardi School of Business and Economics in the Master of Environmental Economics and Management, Master of Science in Environmental Economics and Management, or Master of Business Administration programs. “This partnership is about giving exceptional students a clear, achievable path to a Canadian graduate credential,” said TRU VP International Baihua Chadwick.

Six Nations Polytechnic’s Deyohahá:ge Indigenous Knowledge Centre has launched a partnership with the University of Waterloo on Hodinohsó:ni archival research and rematriation. “This partnership represents an important step in strengthening our responsibilities to Hodinohsó:ni knowledge, histories, and cultural belongings held in institutions abroad,” explained UWaterloo Assistant Professor Dr Talena Atfield. In addition to work with institutions abroad, the partners will also create opportunities for their students to participate in community-based research and contribute to Hodinohsó:ni language revitalization.

CBC IDEAS recently shared a moderated discussion about the future of universities as they contend with existential threats such as program closures, financial challenges, and political attacks. The discussion was moderated by CBC IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed and features Randy Boyagoda (University of Toronto), Malinda S Smith (University of Calgary), and Davide Panagia (UCLA). Comments from Marc Spooner (University of Regina) were also included in the introduction. The panelists discuss the challenges facing higher education today before turning to topics such as the role and purpose of university in society, debates over language and censorship, and the far-reaching impact of cuts to humanities programs.

New Brunswick Community College has received a three-year financial investment from DEWALT Canada that will strengthen skilled trades education and bolster New Brunswick’s workforce. The investment will support three main areas related to trades training. This will include 20 bursaries over the next three years, access to professional grade DEWALT tools and equipment, and improvements to shops so training spaces remain safe while meeting industry standards. Additionally, NBCC’s High School Trades Orientation Program (HSTOP)—powered By DEWALT—will increase trades exposure for high school students wanting to enter the trades. “NBCC is deeply grateful for DEWALT’s investment in our students and our province,” said NBCC VP, Engagement and Experience Heather Allaby.

Assiniboine College officially named its audio recording studio after the late instructor, Bob Simmons, who had a significant impact on his students, colleagues, and the broader media industry. Simmons—affectionately known as “Audio Bob”—dedicated 37 years to teaching at the college, first in Adult Basic Education and then in audio instruction. “His name in that space represents the hundreds of students he worked with,” said Assiniboine President Mark Frison, who explained that the name would ensure Simmons’s legacy continues in teaching and learning at the college.