September 23, 2026

New Brunswick Community College, the University of New Brunswick, and the Government of New Brunswick’s Department of Education and Early Childhood Development have created a working group focused on strengthening pathways between learning, opportunity, and workforce participation. The partners will focus on the public education system as a whole. They have identified three priority areas for collaboration: student engagement and participation in education, the retention of NB students within the provincial public postsecondary system, and increased mobility between colleges and universities. Through this collaboration, the working group will pursue initiatives such as accessible education pathways, strengthened student supports, and enhanced guidance services.

The Table des partenaires universitaires—comprising unions and student associations from sixteen universities in Québec—have called on the province’s political parties to speak to their commitments to university education. The groups gathered under the banner “Universities belong to us all: Investing in universities is an investment for everyone in Quebec.” They asserted that working conditions are deteriorating across the province’s universities and called on the parties to publicly respond to four questions relating to their party’s support for the university mission.

Algoma University has received a $1.5M donation from the Joyce Family Foundation that will be used to fund a bursary for local first-year students. The bursary will be awarded to 12 students who have shown resilience and can demonstrate financial need, providing them with $5K per year for up to four years of study. The bursaries are designed to support students who face barriers to education, including Indigenous and first-generation learners. “This gift will help remove financial barriers for students who have demonstrated both need and resilience, creating opportunities for them to pursue their goals and contribute to the communities they call home,” said AlgomaU President Dr Kofi Campbell.

In a recent University Affairs article, former University of Saskatchewan President Peter Stoicheff describes the “village of support” needed by university presidents. Stoicheff explains that the average term of a Canadian university president has declined to five or fewer years, with the main reason for turnover being a lack of support. This instability, writes the author, coincides with a time when universities need strong leadership to support knowledge dissemination and Canadian productivity, prosperity, and sovereignty. Stoicheff asserts that presidents face several difficulties with accomplishing their objectives in short terms, including challenges with creating spaces that welcome contrasting perspectives and defending and steering the humanities and social sciences. “If it takes a president to raise a university to these now necessary levels of relevance and achievement, it takes a village to raise a president,” concludes Stoicheff.

The Government of Ontario is developing new training requirements for commercial vehicle drivers. The changes will include a new, standardized curriculum for entry-level truck drivers. This will include more than 103 hours of training, with potential additional training topics that include fatigue management and human trafficking awareness. “Stronger and more consistent driver training is good for road safety, good for responsible carriers and good for the future of Ontario’s trucking industry,” said Canada Truck Operators Association Director Tej Dulat.

In a recent episode of the EdUp PCO podcast, New Brunswick Community College President Mary Butler discusses the evolving role that the college is playing in helping to respond to various education and workforce challenges. She describes the province’s educational gap and workforce challenges, including the lower postsecondary attainment rates and aging workforce in the province; the need to support newcomers and workers in the province; and the importance of adapting policies and operations to the realities of today. She also highlights the need to treat education as a lifelong continuum and the opportunities to support a broader set of learners with flexible learning models, alternative pathways through postsecondary education, improved foundational skills supports, and other such factors. “All of the foundational work we’ve been doing has set us up for this moment where we can increase that flexibility, we can look at different models and ways of delivering without robbing from our regular environment,” said Butler.

Nipissing University has officially opened its new Centre for the Study of State Violence. This campus hub will support research, teaching, and public dialogue on the origins and legacies of state violence. It will also advance research and education related to international justice, reconciliation, and resurgence. “We hope this space serves as a catalyst for collaboration, discovery, and public conversations that extend far beyond our campus,” said Nipissing Centre Director Hilary Earl.

A recent CBC article examines the cancellation of a $25M health-care project involving Saint Mary’s University. SMU received $25M from the Government of Nova Scotia in March 2023 to create health-care data analytics and management programs. The university launched several programs and courses, but NS shut the initiative down early this year, citing fiscal constraints and the university’s lack of a concrete plan and progress. SMU Associate VP of External Affairs Margaret Murphy said that “important groundwork, program development, and partnership activities were undertaken during the period of the agreement.” CBC reports that the university has been permitted to keep the approximately $11M in unspent funds on the condition that this year’s operating grant be reduce by the equivalent amount.

The University of the Fraser Valley and the University of Lethbridge each recently announced important updates on their international partnerships. UFV and Yeditepe University in Türkiye have recently formed a partnership to further intercultural learning, both virtually and through exchanges. Meanwhile, ULethbridge and Hokkai Gakuen University in Japan extended their partnership and celebrated the 45th anniversary of their relationship with a signing ceremony and gift exchange. “Universities have a unique role in bringing people together, fostering dialogue, and preparing future generations to tackle global challenges with curiosity, respect, cooperation and different perspectives,” said ULethbridge Executive Director, International Paul Pan.

In a recent article for Maclean’s, Linda Koechli (Toronto Metropolitan University) explores the opportunities that continuing education departments offer to younger students. While continuing education is often directed at older learners and working professionals, Koechli describes seeing recent high school graduates and undergraduate students taking advantage of continuing education courses to remain active during a gap year, explore new interests, or begin their education without committing to a full degree. “High school graduates have a lot of choices to make, and sometimes that can be overwhelming,” she concludes. “Flexible entry points and pathways expand opportunities and allow students to move forward with greater confidence and less risk.”