Ontario has paused all student financial assistance payments to private post-secondary institutions while auditors investigate systemic integrity issues.
Sudbury Students Face Financial Crisis as OSAP Pause Halts Paralegal and Business Programs
Students attending private career colleges across Ontario are facing immediate financial distress following the sudden provincial freeze on the Ontario Student Assistance Program. At CTS Canadian Career College in Sudbury, students protesting outside municipal offices described severe disruptions to their daily lives after student aid payments were put on hold.
Moriah Ferron, a single mother who started her studies in the paralegal program, had her hydro service cut off and had to borrow money just to settle the bill. For many of us, we’re looking at major issues like housing insecurity and such, because OSAP is not just a matter of paying tuition,
Ferron said.
Tabatha Burns, a mother of three who is halfway through her business management course at CTS, found out about the freeze unexpectedly. Last week is when I found out about all this, and now I’ve been struggling to focus and struggling to take my tests, because what’s the point? You know, I’m going to fight, and I’m going to try to get the OSAP,
Burns said.
KPMG Audit Triggers Police Referral and Broad Sector Suspension
Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn announced that the province contracted KPMG in August to audit OSAP usage across private institutions. Preliminary findings revealed serious concerns, including unusually high concentrations of OSAP applications originating from the same geographic locations, inadequate student verification, rapid course completions, and direct ties to immigration recruitment services firms.
The government referred these criminal allegations to the Ontario Provincial Police, though police officials noted they are reviewing the matter and have yet to decide on a formal criminal probe. Earlier this year, the province denied OSAP eligibility to six schools, including four Academy of Learning locations. Three of those Academy of Learning locations have now been blocked from the program until at least 2030.
Data obtained via freedom-of-information requests showed exponential growth at select institutions. Academy of Learning’s Bay Street location grew from 996 OSAP-dependent students in 2021-22 to 7,435 in 2024-25, qualifying for more than $108 million in provincial grants. The Brampton East campus surged from 74 students to 4,260 over the same period, drawing over $64 million. Together with its North York site, those three locations accounted for one-fifth of the nearly $1 billion in provincial OSAP grants distributed across all career colleges that year.
Divinity Schools, Ballet Programs and Trillium College Caught in the Freeze
McMaster Divinity College, where about 10 per cent of non-profit revenue relies on OSAP-paid tuition, reported that students are beside themselves. Ambrose Thomson, the school’s registrar and director of student services, criticized the government’s approach.
They’re not stupid. All I can assume is that at the highest levels where these decisions were made, they’re actually willing to allow career colleges and other schools to shut their doors … I think they’re trying to look like they’re doing something in the face of 300-whatever million dollars that they were not smart enough to pay attention to.
Ambrose Thomson, registrar and director of student services, McMaster Divinity College
The collateral damage extends to Canada’s National Ballet School, private universities, chiropractic and naturopathic colleges, and other institutions, where students relocated to pursue their training and now face intense anxiety over rent, food, and basic financial obligations. Meanwhile, Trillium College suspended classroom and online instruction across its campuses in St. Catharines, Kingston, Oshawa, Sudbury, and Cobourg, stating that continuing normal operations without funding placed the orderly completion of programs at severe risk.
Political Opposition Demands Answers Over Delayed Oversight
Opposition critics seized on the unfolding crisis to question the government’s handling of industry warnings. Career Colleges Ontario had raised alarms about suspicious activity since 2023. Liberal MPP Tyler Watt pointed out that two co-founders of Opulence Education Group, which owns the Academy of Learning, donated more than $8,000 to the Progressive Conservative Party since 2024, questioning why warnings were ignored for years while millions flowed to connected institutions.
NDP MPP Peggy Sattler accused the government of scapegoating students to deflect from administrative incompetence. Bianca Giacoboni, writing on behalf of Minister Quinn’s office, defended the action, stating that evidence of systemic issues left the administration with no alternative but to halt disbursements to protect public funds.
The ministry maintains it is developing options for low-interest, third-party loans facilitated through financial institutions to bridge the gap during the transition. However, Minister Quinn has not provided a definitive timeline for when those alternative financing options will become available to stranded students.
