August 26, 2026

The University of Alberta has opened its new First Peoples’ House. This $16.8M, three-floor building replaces a former space in the Students’ Union Building to give Indigenous students a dedicated location to gather and feel at home. It provides a place for students to participate in ceremonies, connect with Elders, and smudge. It also features a gym, healing room, and study spaces. Nêhiyawêwin (Cree) is prominent throughout the centre. “This space is for us,” said UAlberta master’s student Kuna Gadwa. “It gives us that place that’s like our home, (that’s) for us to finally be acknowledged.”

The Government of Ontario is investing $4.8M through the Skills Development Fund Training Stream to train workers in the Simcoe region. This investment will provide workers and jobseekers with practical skills training, work experience, and mentorship and employment supports in order to prepare them for careers in areas such as agriculture, long-term care, and the skilled trades. ON will partner with Blue Door Support Service, Botree Inc, and the Karma Project Community Food Co-Operative Inc to provide training and workforce development opportunities.

LaSalle College has announced that it has filed for creditor protection as it tries to navigate a $48M debt owed to the Government of Québec. Classes at the college, which were slated to begin on Thursday, have been suspended indefinitely as the institution works to find a solution. “Our goal is to ensure that [students] can begin the academic term at the College as soon as possible, and we are making every effort to achieve this,” said LaSalle on its website. Approximately 3,000 students are affected by the suspension of classes.

The Government of Canada has launched the Transportation and Supply Chain Workforce Alliance, led by Trucking HR Canada in partnership with CIFFA – Canada’s Association of Logistics Providers. The Transportation and Supply Chain Workforce Alliance will bring together postsecondary institutions, employers, unions, and Indigenous partners. Together, these partners will identify challenges in the transportation and warehousing sectors and develop coordinated solutions to address them. The alliance will be established for an initial three years, with the federal government providing up to $8M in funding to support its start.

In cases where university employees are found to have committed misconduct, those findings should more readily follow them to future institutions, argues Bryn Williams-Jones (Université de Montréal). Williams-Jones explains that the status quo enables employees who commit misconduct to start anew at another institution, despite the harm they caused to their previous institution. The author argues that universities should work together to share misconduct information across institutions. Such a system would need to be fair, limited, and protected by due process, Williams-Jones argues, and would illustrate institutions taking responsibility in exchange for the autonomy that they are granted by society.

Three institutions are celebrating the launch of new educational and support spaces. Concordia University has officially opened its Co-op, Experiential Learning and Career Centre. This centre supports students with job searches, career planning, and resume tailoring. Meanwhile, Dalhousie University celebrated the opening of an expansion at its Centre for Collaborative Clinical Learning and Research. The expansion contains simulation spaces and tools that will support training with closely recreated real-world complex-care situations. Northern Lakes College also announced the upcoming official opening of its Mobile Training Lab. The lab will be used this Fall by pre-employment carpentry students to gain hands-on skills, and then will be transitioned into a space for students in the college’s electrical program this winter.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University has announced that it has expanded its zero textbook cost (ZTC) initiative to offer more than 1,000 ZTC courses and 17 programs. The newest programs that students can complete without purchasing a textbook include the Certificate in Computer Aided Design and Drafting, Diploma in Fine Arts, English Minor, and Bachelor of Arts with a Major in History. “This idea first emerged nearly a decade ago through conversations among faculty. We have issues with the price of textbooks and we have all used additional readings to augment the textbooks anyway. It seemed logical to create something that would be more clearly bespoke for KPU students,” explained KPU instructor Dr Robert Menzies.

In this article, Nada Kakabadse (University of Reading) discusses classroom practices and assignment redesigns that can teach students to use AI in a way that will prepare them for the workforce. Kakabadse highlights some of the practices with assignment supervision currently being used, and then describes types of assignments instructors can use to ensure students learn to “discuss” problems with AI. These include a submission of significant AI interactions, a structured error-hunting exercise, an exercise where students challenge AI, and an oral defence of submitted work. The author explains that rubrics should also be rewritten to evaluate AI interaction.

Western University will be moving its free legal clinic—run by its Faculty of Law—to a downtown location later this year. Through a partnership with Fanshawe College, Western’s clinic will move into the college’s Howard W Rundle Building near the City of London’s courthouse. This will help make the clinic’s services more accessible for potential clients. “This move marks a major milestone in strengthening community-based legal services to ensure people in London and region can access critical support that may otherwise be out of reach,” said Western President Alan Shepard. “It also brings together two strong institutions in the downtown core, helping to realize our shared vision of a vibrant city.”

Cégep de Lanaudière, the Fondation du Cégep de Lanaudière, and the Fondation Claude‑Édouard Hétu have partnered to provide technology access to youth who are supported by the Director of Youth Protection (DYP). The program will provide new laptops to students coming from child protective services, ensuring that they have access to computing equipment so they can successfully continue their studies. Students who receive a laptop will also be directed to supports offered by the cégep, including financial assistance, learning centres, and psychosocial services. The program will run this year through 2028.