August 13, 2025

The Université de Sherbrooke has received a $6M donation from philanthropist Herbert Black for the creation of a high-level men’s and women’s university hockey program. This donation will be used to create a dedicated support fund for the development of this athletic program. USherbrooke recteur Jean-Pierre Perreault pointed to the growing demand for university hockey, asserting that the university will be able to attract more talented student-athletes and enable them to develop their skills within the province.

With new international students set to arrive in Canada soon, several institutions are sharing resources and hosting special events to help orient them to life in Canada. Many institutions, including Camosun College, Fleming College, and the University of Calgary, have been sharing pre-arrival and post-arrival information through checklists and virtual events throughout the summer. As students arrive, institutions like McGill University and the University of Victoria are hosting receptions, barbecues, and off-campus tours to help them get accustomed to campus and the city. Brandon University also announced it would be holding a videomaking competition for international students with cash prizes.

Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles has inaugurated a new residence for its Carleton-sur-Mer campus. The facility—which is within walking distance of the cégep—includes 24 apartments, a laundry room, and a terrace. Students who are coming from outside of the region will be prioritized for these spaces, as a goal of the residence is to make higher education in the region more accessible. The residence is shared with a vocational training centre called the Centre de formation professionnelle L’Envol, which provided the land and in return will use five apartments for its students. The project was funded by $7.7M from the Government of Québec.

Starting this September, Royal Roads University will offer a business and sustainability program at its Langford Campus. This undergraduate certificate—which can be laddered with an undergraduate diploma—is designed to introduce topics of economic, environmental, and social sustainability in business. The program utilizes a challenge-based approach and requires that students examine areas of business through a systems thinking lens. Royal Roads Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies Robert Mittelman said the program will provide “a solid business foundation, but also an understanding of the impact that businesses can have on our communities.”

Talks between Dalhousie University and the Dalhousie Faculty Association on Monday have failed to produce a tentative agreement, reports the Chronicle Herald. Dal’s Board of Governors offered the faculty association a final offer including wage increases of 2% annually for three years. It also withdrew its proposal based on the “90-10” rule, which would have required that 90% of all teaching be completed by Association members. Dalhousie Faculty Association President David Westwood said the bargaining team is not recommending the offer be accepted. Members will have a week to vote on the offer, and if it is rejected, a lock out or strike could follow.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) has announced that college full-time support staff will be voting on a strike mandate this week. The bargaining team is urging its members to vote in favour of the strike mandate in order to “protect our jobs, vacation, and demand respect for our work.” There is a scheduled meeting with an appointed conciliation officer later this month; OPSEU says that it could enter a strike position if the conciliation meeting results in a “no board report” and the union has a strike mandate from its membership.

In a recent article for Nunatsiaq News, Managing Editor Corey Larocque argues against the future Inuit Nunangat University’s proposed faculty names. Larocque asserts that moving away from traditional faculty names to “unconventional” names, such as the faculty of surroundings and relationality for a faculty that teaches health-related professions, will make it harder for graduates to have their degrees “taken seriously” by employers. Additionally, the author notes that employers may pass over applicants whose resumes include information they do not understand. “It’s hard enough for graduates to break into the work world after they graduate,” writes Larocque. “Don’t give them a diploma that will prompt employers to say, what’s that?”

Two University of Manitoba law students, working with the Manitoba Legal Clinic for the Arts, recently submitted a letter in support of a proposal from the Canadian Arts Coalition to the Government of Canada’s House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. The coalition’s proposal calls on the federal government to permanently allocate a minimum of 1% of total federal spending to arts, culture, and heritage, with a $330M increase for the 2025-26 fiscal year. In the proposal, UManitoba JD candidates Emily Trottier and Rachael Buchwald highlighted the role played by the arts in Canada’s identity and the need for sustained support. “We felt it was important not only to support artists through direct legal services but also to support long-term policy change,” said Trottier.

Toronto Star Senior Writer Janet Hurley recently reviewed the tribunal hearings into academic integrity at the University of Toronto to explore the types of academic dishonesty students attempt to engage in. While many postsecondary professionals are combatting AI-assisted cheating, Hurley notes that “old-school fraud” like using cellphones during exams and hiring writers to ghostwrite assignments and exams are still prevalent. Hurley summarizes several cases of fraud described in the tribunal hearing decisions and the resulting sanctions that students faced: marks of zero, suspensions, and notations on academic records.

As wildfires burn in Newfoundland and Labrador, the province’s postsecondary institutions are adapting their operations and offering supports to those affected. In response to wildfires occurring in the Avalon Peninsula, College of the North Atlantic closed their Carbonear Campus on Tuesday. Memorial University provided an update on support services available to staff and students affected by wildfires in the province. The university announced that it is offering mental health supports to students and faculty, as well as academic supports to students affected by wildfire evacuation orders.