Public colleges report a record revenue increase in 2022/2023

Total revenue of public colleges (including CEGEPs and polytechnics) increased by 10.5%, rising from $14.6 billion in 2021/2022 to $16.1 billion in 2022/2023. Total expenditures increased by 7.7% to $15.5 billion in 2022/2023, resulting in a total surplus of $591 million for the year. Dollar figures in this release are expressed in 2023 constant dollars to remove the effect of inflation and to enable comparisons over time.

All public health restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted during the 2022/2023 academic year. This enabled the full resumption of on-campus activities and ancillary operations, such as student residences, parking and food services, which contributed to the growth in college finances.

Public colleges continued to face higher operational costs in 2022/2023. The inflation rate, which went from 6.7% in 2021/2022 to 4.3% in 2022/2023, remained a major contributing factor.

While 2022/2023 saw the largest annual growth in revenue since the start of the data series, in 2001/2002, it is expected that recent changes, including a cap on international student permits and changes to the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program, will put pressure on college finances in 2024/2025 and beyond.

Fees, investment income and ancillary revenues drive the record increase in total revenue

Revenue from public college fees grew by one-quarter (+25.0%) in 2022/2023 to reach $6.1 billion.

Public college fees were the second-largest source of revenue in 2022/2023, following provincial and territorial funding, and accounted for over one-third (38.1%) of total public college revenue. Public college fees (+25.0%) rose at the fastest pace on record, which is mainly attributable to increased international student enrolment (+29.7%). Generally, international students pay much higher fees than Canadian students. Prince Edward Island (+39.8%) reported the fastest growth in fees, followed by Ontario (+32.4%).

In 2022/2023, investment income earned by public colleges grew 110.0% to reach a record high of $273 million, accounting for 1.7% of total revenue. This marked the largest annual gain for public colleges since the beginning of this data series in 2001/2002. Ontario accounted for over half (55.4%) of the investment returns in 2022/2023.

Public colleges generated $628.9 million in ancillary revenues in 2022/2023, up 24.2% from one year earlier, building on a 46.2% increase in 2021/2022. Public colleges continued to recover product and service base revenue following the shock of the first year of the pandemic.

Public funding continues to decrease

Public colleges received $7.8 billion in provincial and territorial funding in 2022/2023. While down slightly (-0.3%) from 2021/2022, this source of revenue remained the largest, accounting for 48.5% of total revenue. The decrease aligns with the general downward trend in public funding, which peaked at 65.8% in 2008/2009. Most jurisdictions experienced a decrease in provincial or territorial funding in 2022/2023, except for the Northwest Territories (+33.8%), Quebec (+3.9%), Nunavut (+2.5%) and British Columbia (+0.2%), which saw increases.

Federal funding for public colleges, largely directed toward special programs and sponsored research, fell by 19.7% to $262.9 million. New Brunswick (+139.7%) reported the largest increase, mainly to fund projects aimed at modernizing educational programs and technological systems.

Public college spending on the rise

In 2022/2023, total public college expenditures rose by 7.7% from 2021/2022 to reach $15.5 billion. Ontario accounted for more than two-thirds (69.4%) of this increase in 2022/2023, with the largest growth in spending on building projects (+61.2%), followed by furniture and equipment (+44.1%).

Among the key factors driving the increase in spending were the higher costs to support increased enrolments and the full resumption of campus activities.