August 28, 2026

Northern Lakes College recently celebrated the grand opening of its Fairview campus. Starting this September, NLC will offer trades programming and online courses from the campus, with plans to add health care programming in 2027. Lakeland College also announced at the opening ceremony that it hopes to offer a veterinary technician program at the campus starting next September. NLC currently serves as an interim leaseholder for the campus, with the local Fairview Regional Campus Society planning to take over the day-to-day operations of the campus by May 2027.

The Canadian Light Source synchrotron at the University of Saskatchewan has received $3M from Innovation Saskatchewan for a “major” technology upgrade. Specifically, a solid-state amplifier—used to power the synchrotron’s 22 beamlines—will be installed on the machine. The university says that this will improve the facility’s performance, reliability, and energy efficiency. “This investment from Innovation Saskatchewan will give researchers and industry partners stronger tools needed to spark new ideas and create valuable solutions that will have lasting impacts on Saskatchewan and around the world,” explained USask President Vince Bruni-Bossio.

Northwestern Polytechnic has officially opened a new skilled trades training centre. The 40,000-square-foot facility will provide learners with a modern, industry-aligned training environment where they can engage in hands-on learning. The polytechnic states that the introduction of this facility expands capacity for skilled trades training in the region to more than 1,500 seats. “Our enrolment numbers are already confirming what we had heard from local community members, industry leaders, and prospective students about the urgent need for this training in Grande Prairie,” said NWP President Dr Vanessa Sheane.

Memorial University has announced that it has finalized several workforce changes as part of its cost reduction measures. The university has eliminated a total of 107 positions—51 through retirements, 37 through the elimination of vacant positions, and 19 through involuntary position closures—resulting in $12.7M in cost reductions. “These choices are difficult because they affect people who have contributed meaningfully to the Memorial community,” said Memorial President Dr Janet Morrison. “At the same time, we have a responsibility to ensure the university is financially sustainable and aligned with the students and communities we serve.”

The aging professorate is the focus of the latest University Affairs Prof vs Prof articles. In the case in favour of mandatory retirement, Jamie Paris (University of Manitoba) argues that the current situation creates a difficult employment environment for young academics that may discourage them from staying in the sector; prevents continuing faculty renewal; and enables some academics to work past the point at which they were capable. In the case against, Joe Norris argues that forcing willing workers to retire amounts to “systemic violence.” Norris explains that mandatory retirement can harm the academic community through a loss of knowledge, while also having an emotional and financial impact on those academics in want or need of work.

Centennial College and Trent University have launched a new Signature Pathway to enable learners to earn double credentials in business. Students who are accepted to this program will receive a joint offer that includes admission to Centennial and conditional entry to Trent. They will complete two years of study at each institution and graduate with both a diploma and a degree. “Students deserve to feel confident that their education will prepare them for career success, and that every dollar and minute they invest along the way will count,” said Centennial VP Partnerships, Enrolment, and External Relations Charmaine Hack.

Mount Allison University has introduced a new interdisciplinary major for its Bachelor of Arts that focuses on Community, Education, and Social Change. The program draws on a variety of fields to explore topics such as community-supported education, social justice, and decolonization. Students will have the opportunity to come together with Elders, mentors, community members, organizations, and industry partners for shared learning experiences. “By learning with communities rather than simply about them, students gain a deeper understanding of their role as citizens and professionals, while communities benefit from new ideas, energy, and relationships,” explained MtA Assistant Professor Dr Sacha DeWolfe.

The University of Waterloo’s rocketry team has set a new world record for the highest amateur liquid rocket ever launched. At the 2026 Launch Canada Challenge, the Waterloo Rocketry team launched a liquid-fuel rocket to an altitude of 63,497 feet, breaking the previous world record of 56,560 feet. The team designed and built a 17-foot-long rocket that weighs 300 pounds when fully fueled and equipped it with an extensive parachute system to bring the rocket safely back to earth. “This whole system is just ridiculously overbuilt,” said UWaterloo student Luca Scavone of the parachute system. “You can tell that we were a little paranoid about not getting the rocket back this year.”

Several students held a protest yesterday in response to the suspension of classes at LaSalle College. “All of us are frustrated and we just want transparency and clarity and to know what’s going on,” said second-year student Maynard McKinnon, adding that many students found out that classes were suspended through the media instead of through a communication from the school. “We got no response, like no school contact, no email to us saying it was closed.” International students told CBC that the class suspension has also introduced uncertainties about their immigration status.

The Carleton University Ravens recently released a new literary project to help young boys develop a sense of emotional connectedness and challenge elements of toxic masculinity. The book—New Adventures, New Paths: Telling our Stories—consists of a series of short fiction stories written by male student-athletes at Carleton. “We came up with this project [thinking] that it would be amazing if we had men on campus come together to write stories of collaboration and care for other younger men and boys,” said Bailey Reid, Senior Advisor for Gender and Sexual Violence Prevention and Support at Carleton. “[I was] blown away by how [they] committed to the work, put themselves outside of their comfort zone, and connected to one another as they wrote their stories.”