September 4, 2025

The Government of Canada recently announced two major investments that will support research in the areas of youth mental health and space science. The Government of Canada is investing $30M over four years through CIHR and Indigenous Services Canada to improve the Integrated Youth Services Network of Networks. The funding will be used to advance research, data, and knowledge sharing through the 12 provincial and territorial IYS networks and a pan-Canadian Indigenous network. Meanwhile, the Canadian Space Agency has distributed nearly $2.8M in research grants to researchers from 14 postsecondary institutions to support space science research and innovation.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union—representing support staff from 24 Ontario colleges—has announced that its members will go on strike if a new agreement cannot be reached with College Employer Council by Sept 11. The council said that OPSEU has repeatedly rejected calls for interest arbitration and accused the union of “looking for a strike.” OPSEU full-time support bargaining team chair Christine Kelsey said that “[a]fter twenty one full days of bargaining, we have yet to reach an agreement that meets our members’ top-line priority: job security.”

A class action lawsuit challenging the automatic enrolment of students in health insurance plans has been filed in the Superior Court of Québec. Droit-Inc reports that the plaintiff has alleged that students are being illegally enrolled in the policies provided by the Alliance pour la santé étudiante au Québec (ASEQ) and insured by Desjardins Financial Security. The lawsuit alleges that the independents have violated the privacy rights of students, enrolled group members without consent, billed without informing students that insurance is optional, and imposed an arbitrary opt-out deadline. More than 30 cégeps and universities across the province are also named as defendants, though the plaintiff asserted that ASEQ and Desjardins are the primary targets. The lawsuit seeks full reimbursement of insurance premiums and damages.

Toronto Metropolitan University has kicked off the academic year with two announcement. The university has celebrated the official opening of its new School of Medicine in Brampton. At the opening, Orlando Corporation pledged $25M in matching funds for donations to the school. TMU’s Academic Accommodation Support office also recently received a $2M gift from the RBC Foundation to support students with disabilities. The office, which has experienced a growing need over the last five years, will use the funds to expand and enhance its programming, such as by introducing work-integrated learning supports alongside accommodation supports for the first time.

The Supreme Court of British Columbia has dismissed a challenge brought on by members of the Faculty Association of Simon Fraser University, which opposed the faculty association’s recent resolutions condemning Israel’s actions in the Gaza region. The opposing members claimed that the resolutions were improper because the association’s actions should be constrained to the local area surrounding the campus. The ruling cited several past resolutions relating to international political events that had gone unchallenged, as well as the lack of any such geographical limitations in the association’s stated purposes.

A study by Emerson LaCroix and Janice Aurini from the University of Waterloo has investigated the concept of “transfer shock”—difficulties faced by students when transferring institutions—in Ontario transfer students, and provided several recommendations to mitigate its effects. The authors of the study propose that the “shock” is actually several academic and social “jolts” that students experience as they navigate their new school. Common academic jolts included difficulties navigating administrative systems and adapting to new assessment and learning expectations. The authors found that while the academic jolts appeared to subside within the first semester, social jolts—like navigating existing social groups—persisted longer. The authors recommend that institutions provide more proactive guidance from academic advisors and increase social supports for transfer students.

The University of Manitoba has unveiled an updated logo for its Bisons athletic programs. The logo depicts a forward-facing bison, outlined in brown and coloured with gold, white, and blue. The logo was created through consultation with a variety of groups including athletes, coaches, volunteers, and members of the Indigenous community. 3DownNation reports that the logo will be used this year by all but the football team, which will adopt it next year. Skyler Bruce, a member of the men’s hockey team, said of the change: “The name and look of the Bisons means something in Manitoba, and I think we will all look back on this as a very special time.”

At the University of Regina, the school year has begun without a students’ union, reports CBC. The University of Regina Students’ Union was evicted from campus in mid-August and is reportedly now under investigation for possible misappropriation of funds. According to CTV, court documents show that URegina’s security service received information alleging that URSU has misappropriated funds and was involved in other illegal activity. In the meantime, several students told CBC that they were unsure where to go for support with their questions or issues with student services that are typically provided by the students’ union.

A study published by The Fraser Institute has found that approximately a third of Canadian university students feel they cannot express honest viewpoints during class discussions. Fraser Institute Senior Fellows Matthew D Mitchell and Michael Zwaagstra surveyed 1,200 students and recent graduates from more than 65 universities across the 10 provinces. They explored how left- and right-leaning students perceive and experience classroom discussions, especially when discussing controversial topics. “When students attend university, it is assumed that they will encounter a broad array of opinions, and that differing views will be discussed, contested and debated openly,” said Mitchell. “But that’s not happening at campuses across Canada, according to the students themselves.”

Holland College’s student union has surrendered its charter and a new governing body called the Student Association of Holland College has been brought in, reports The Guardian. Students will be represented by this new organization, which will offer them the same services without fee changes, and the change will have no impact on student affairs. “It will be more student-focused in the way that there’s like a student advisory council,” said a representative for the association, who declined to comment on why the charter had been surrendered. The Guardian reports that the association’s leadership will come from a student advisory council composed of between eight and 15 students, with at least 1-2 representatives from each campus.