Budget updates

A structural deficit occurs when the university’s recurring expenses exceed its recurring revenues — even before one-time costs or external shocks are factored in. It requires long-term solutions, not temporary fixes.

Between FY2023-24 and FY 2028-29, Concordia expects to implement close to $200 million in cumulative cuts to return to a balanced budget.

Yes. While Concordia is working to protect core academic and research activities, some impacts on service levels are unavoidable. Community members may notice changes to how — or how quickly — certain services are delivered.

To address demographic shifts and policy changes affecting enrolment, Concordia is expanding its reach beyond traditional full-time undergraduate and graduate students. The university is exploring flexible delivery models and new global partnerships — particularly in high-demand sectors — to attract a more diverse range of learners without increasing its physical footprint.

Concordia’s financial challenges are not unique. Most Quebec and Canadian universities are facing serious structural financial challenges. Based on the most recent data from the Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire, 13 universities — not including Concordia or McGill — are forecasting operating deficits for 2025-26.

The collective projected shortfall for these 13 universities alone is $66.4 million. If Concordia and McGill are included in the estimate, the sector-wide shortfall climbs to approximately $134.4 million.

Current projections suggest that, without recovery measures, Canadian universities could collectively face a structural deficit of up to $5 billion by 2028.

This confirms that the issue is not isolated — but Concordia is particularly vulnerable due to its reliance on enrolment and revenues from the rest-of-Canada and international students.

Concordia experienced a loss of approximately 700 students in 2024-25 — or 2.3 per cent of its student population. This drop is directly linked to policy changes introduced by both the Canadian and Quebec governments.

At the provincial level, new tuition frameworks significantly increased fees for rest-of-Canada students and altered the funding model for international students. The Canadian government’s caps on international study permits created additional barriers for prospective students.

Concordia was also excluded from two provincial grants open to francophone universities that support the recruitment of international students and the transition to the new funding framework.

These measures have contributed not only to reduced enrolment, but to lasting reputational damage that will take time to repair.

The 2025-26 budget from the Quebec government freezes operating grants for two years, locking institutional funding at 2024-25 levels — despite rising costs across the board. This means:

• Institutional funding will not rise to cover inflation or salary increases.
• Concordia received no additional funding to cover salary increases negotiated under the Government Salary Policy. This gap created a $12 million shortfall that had to be absorbed within existing budgets.
• Provincial funding represents 55.2 per cent of Concordia’s overall budget in FY2025-26. The university’s ability to offset inflationary pressures and salary obligations is therefore significantly limited under the current funding freeze.
• At the same time, the Quebec government has increased the claw back on international tuition revenue. This reduces the effective value of provincial grants — even with a frozen total envelope.

This two-year freeze signals a clear policy of provincial disinvestment in the higher education sector and reinforces the need for structural financial adjustments within the university system.

In FY2024-25, Concordia introduced a range of cost-saving measures aligned with the government- and board-approved financial recovery plan. These include:

• A hiring freeze
• Reductions to part-time and casual contracts
• Lower travel budgets and fewer external consultants
• Streamlined security, cleaning and building service schedules
• Reduced hours for the shuttle bus
• Closure of the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
• An exceptional accrued vacation buyout
• Reduction or suspension of certain institutional memberships

Importantly, academic and research units saw a 3.8 per cent cut, while administrative units absorbed an 8.1 per cent reduction.

Structural reforms have also been implemented, including:

• Maximizing returns from Concordia’s sustainable investment policy
• Redesigning the administration of benefits programs, with no impact to coverage
• Adjusting transfers to the pension fund
• Reviewing the business delivery model for online learning
• Increasing the performance of ancillary operations, including residences, parking and summer camps

Concordia is entering a pivotal budget year — with a projected $18.4 million drop in year-over-year revenues. At the same time, the university is managing salary increases, inflation, indexed contracts and other rising costs. After two years of meeting its deficit targets, Concordia must now take even stronger action to stay on track with its financial recovery plan, which runs through FY2028-29.

To manage these pressures, the 2025-26 budget follows this framework:

• Initial projected deficit: $84 million
• Central adjustments: $15.4 million
• Budget adjustments across all sectors: $37.5 million
• Deficit aligned with recover plan: $31.1 million

Stronger cost controls are being introduced, including:

• A 7.2 per cent budget reduction across all sectors
• A goal to recruit 1,000 additional students, though this is made more difficult by the Quebec government’s Bill 74
• Further developments to streamline operations and explore new revenues

Together, measures already implemented or underway have resulted in additional revenues and cost reductions of $44.4 million in 2024-25, with a further $52.5 million in 2025-26, for a two-year total of $96.9 million in savings and new revenue.

Workforce spending — which represents 72 per cent of the overall budget — remains a central focus. The university is not currently implementing layoffs, but they may be required later in FY2025-26 as a last resort to meet the commitments of the recovery plan.

The following actions are planned or under consideration:

• A hiring freeze will remain in effect and be applied more rigorously in FY2025-26
• The university will close an additional 100 staff positions, resulting in the closure of more than 200 staff positions over two years
• Other initiatives being explored include reduced workloads, shared services, continued use of attrition and a staff Voluntary Retirement Program

While the push to attract 1,000 additional students remains a goal, the focus is shifting toward broadening Concordia’s learner profile. That said, enrolment services and faculties are continuing efforts to stabilize and grow enrolment, particularly at the graduate level, where more flexible intake calendars offer greater opportunity.

Beyond traditional undergraduate and graduate students, Concordia is:

• Diversifying its learner population to reduce reliance on volatile enrolment segments
• Exploring new program models that serve a wider range of learners, including professionals and industry-specific audiences

• Pursuing partnerships with international institutions and sectors, though not through the creation of physical campuses abroad

These efforts are part of a broader institutional strategy to build a more resilient and sustainable enrolment model over the long term.

Salary increases at Concordia are negotiated with unions and associations and are guided in part by Quebec’s Government Salary Policy (GSP), which sets wage parameters across the public sector.

However, the Quebec government does not inform universities how much of the GSP increase it will fund — or when — until well after new agreements are signed. This creates financial uncertainty and often results in a funding gap.

In June 2023, the GSP increase was 6 per cent, but the government funded only 45 per cent of that amount. This left a $6 million shortfall for Concordia — a gap that had to be covered by cutting operational costs. These cuts are recurring and have a lasting impact on the university’s structural finances.

These funding gaps contribute directly to the structural deficit and further limit Concordia’s financial flexibility.