Colleges report their largest recorded growth in revenue and expenditures in more than two decades in 2023/2024

Canadian colleges recorded their largest increase in total revenue (+11.5%) and expenditure (+12.3%) in more than two decades in 2023/2024. Total revenues reached $18.5 billion, while expenditures totalled $17.9 billion.

Nearly four-fifths (77.0%) of the annual increase in college revenues came from student fees ($1.5 billion), followed by investment income (9.7%), provincial funding (7.0%) and other revenue sources (6.3%).

The $2.0 billion increase in college expenditures was largely driven by higher salaries and benefits (45.5%), followed by spending on fees and contracted services (31.4%), operational supplies (5.1%), and expenditure items (18.0%) such as utilities and furniture and equipment.

All figures are expressed in 2024 constant dollars to remove the effects of inflation and allow for consistent comparisons over time.

Student enrolment and college fees contribute most to revenue

A record increase of nearly 100,000 new students contributed to the 23.2% increase in total college fees collected in 2023/2024. Most of this growth came from international students studying in Ontario, who often pay up to four times more in fees than Canadian students.

Over the last two decades—particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic—colleges have become increasingly reliant on student fees as opposed to public funding. In 2020/2021, fees accounted for less than one-third (32.9%) of total revenues; by 2023/2024, this share had risen to 42.1%.

Chart 1: Total fees and total provincial funding as a percent of total revenues, 2009/2010 to 2023/2024

Some variations in dependence on college fees were noted across the country. In 2023/2024, Ontario was the only province where the majority of college revenue (64.5%) came from fees, while all other provinces and territories relied more on provincial funding.

In 2023/2024, college fees accounted for the smallest share of total revenue in Nunavut (2.5%), the Northwest Territories (3.7%) and Quebec (7.5%).

Despite the large increase in total fees in 2023/2024, revenue from future fees could be impacted by federal and provincial policy changes. These policy changes include capping international student study permit applications and changing the eligibility criteria for the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program.

Public funding rises at fastest pace in a decade

Colleges received their largest year-over-year increase in public funding in a decade in 2023/2024. However, public funding continues to decline as a share of total revenue.

Public funding—from federal, provincial, and municipal sources—increased by 2.1% to $8.5 billion in 2023/2024. Despite this rise, its share of total college revenue fell from 58.5% in 2020/2021 to 46.0% in 2023/2024.

Investment income increases for a second straight year

Investment income is influenced by broader economic conditions and is not a guaranteed source of revenue.

In 2023/2024, colleges reported a second consecutive increase in investment income with all provinces and territories reporting positive returns on investment.

Total investment returns increased by nearly two-thirds (+65.8%) to $466.5 million in 2023/2024, following a record 110.0% increase the previous year.

Salaries and benefits rise at a record rate

The renewal of collective agreements, retroactive payments and the hiring of new staff to support increased student enrolment contributed to a record year-over-year rise in college salary and benefit expenses in 2023/2024.

These expenses increased by 9.4% to $10.5 billion in 2023/2024. However, they continue to represent a smaller share of total spending, falling from a high of 66.5% in 2020/2021 to 58.3% in 2023/2024.