October 16, 2026

The Association of Atlantic Universities has released the results of its 2026–2027 survey of preliminary enrolments by institution, which summarizes international and domestic student enrolment at the undergraduate and graduate levels. According to the data, full-time enrolment in the Atlantic region fell to 77,637 students in 2026, compared to 79,228 in 2025. AAU CEO Ava Czapalay explained that the impacts of the drop have been multifaceted: “There’s a financial impact, and there’s the impact of having fewer people in our communities to volunteer, to contribute, to buy goods and services, everything.” Leaders including AAU Chair Dr Handrew Hakin and Cape Breton University President David Dingwall have called on the Government of Canada to review its study permit policies in Atlantic Canada.

Maclean’s has released several more 2027 Canadian university rankings, focusing on a variety of metrics. By retention rate, the top large universities were McGill University (#1), Queen’s University (#2), and the University of Waterloo and Western University (tied for #3); the top mid-sized universities were the University of Guelph (#1), Université de Sherbrooke (#2), and University of Victoria (#3); and the top small universities were Bishop’s University (#1), Nipissing University (#2), and Lakehead University (#3). By graduation rate, the top large universities were McGill (#1), Queen’s (#2), and UWaterloo (#3); the top mid-sized universities were the UoGuelph (#1), USherbrooke (#2), and UVic (#3); and the top small universities were Bishop’s (#1), Nipissing (#2), and Lakehead (#3).

The University of Prince Edward Island’s Atlantic Veterinary College will be undertaking major upgrades to its HVAC system to ensure it can maintain its accreditation. This five-year project totals about $27.1M and will be completed in phases to ensure that the facility can remain open while the work is being done. “If the facility was deemed inappropriate and you could not resolve it, then your actual academic program would lose its accreditation, and that would not be a good thing when you’ve got multiple provinces supporting the fact that we have an Atlantic veterinary college here,” said UPEI VP of Administration and Finance Tim Walker.

In a recent Maclean’s article, David Bourget (Western University) argues that instructors must change assignments to ensure students learn the creative processes that will be valuable to them in their future careers. Bourget explains that AI is removing the lower rungs of the ladder within the workplace, meaning that universities need to prepare their graduates to start at a higher level. The author details two practical approaches to ensuring that students do their work: requiring students to complete their writing in a writing lab where their work is proctored by software and teaching assistants, and grading based on the whole process. “The answer is not to give up on take-home assignments,” explains Bourget. “It’s to make cheating hard again.”

Bishop’s University has launched its new Join the Multiversity campaign, focused on the university’s multidisciplinary offerings, multicultural campus, and community that multiplies connections. This bilingual campaign will run until November 8th and will appear across a variety of mediums, including on transit boards, in cégeps, and on social media. “When information is a few seconds away, the value of an education lies in what develops between people: connecting fields of knowledge, understanding those who think differently, leaning on a community. That’s what Bishop’s offers,” explained Bishop’s Principal Sébastien Lebel-Grenier.

MacEwan University’s Wellness and Psychological Services has partnered with Recovery Alberta to expand mental health care for students who need more intensive supports. Occupational therapist Fiona Cameron will provide on-campus services, enabling students to fit mental health and/or addiction care more smoothly into their schedules. Students will continue to be triaged by Wellness and Psychological Services, receiving supports from Recovery Alberta when appropriate. Graduates will also have access to support for up to a year as they transition to life after university. “We really want to make sure that we have a support system that also bolsters academic success,” said Cameron.

Concordia University’s Office of Community Engagement has released a new guide on building “respectful, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial” research partnerships with Indigenous communities. The guide is the second resource in the university’s Dewemaagannag / My Relations series, and contains guidelines in partnership development, ethics, and data sovereignty. Concordia project lead Natasha Blanchet-Cohen called the guide “a small part of reconcili-ACTION,” explaining that it serves to make sure research reflects communities’ lived experiences.

Fanshawe College and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board have officially opened the WSIB Centre of Excellence in Immersive Technologies Simulation for Workplace Safety. The facility contains extended reality and AI technologies that are used to create immersive training scenarios for public safety personnel. The centre will serve as a living lab where students from a variety of disciplines will participate in the centre’s projects. “By bringing students, researchers and first responders together in one space, we will help public safety personnel prepare for the toughest moments of the job, recover from mental stress injuries and safely return home to their families,” concluded WorkSafe Ontario Fund President Joshua Workman.

Collège Montmorency and the University of New Brunswick have each opened new health-focused facilities. Collège Montmorency and Santé Québec Laval have collaborated to open a specimen collection centre in the college’s teaching clinic. The collection centre will provide nursing students with learning experiences while they meet community needs. UNB has launched a mobile health unit that will serve people experiencing homelessness or housing instability. The unit will provide primary care, mental health and addictions services, and social supports for clients while offering hands-on learning opportunities for nursing and nurse practitioner students.

Wilfrid Laurier University and the City of Brantford have partnered to turn WLU’s Odeon Building into a community-operated facility. The municipality will begin leasing the building at no charge starting in November, with the plan of transforming it into a community space as WLU focuses on concentrating its student and academic activities elsewhere. “This collaborative partnership supports the vision for the city’s core, bringing more exciting activities downtown and maximizing public infrastructure to create positive economic, social and cultural impacts that benefit everyone,” said WLU VP, Finance and Administration Debbie Martin.