Photo via Global News

Ontario to cap OSAP growth at career colleges following massive increases

Read the original at Global News ↗
Cite

Bowden, O. (2026, November 12). Ontario to cap OSAP growth at career colleges following massive increases. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/12148094/ontario-to-cap-osap-growth-at-career-colleges-following-massive-increases/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Global News · collected 2026-11-12 · by Olivia Bowden

Quick Summary

Ontario's Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn announced plans to introduce legislation on Monday that would cap the growth of Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) funding for career colleges. This move follows a significant increase in OSAP usage by the sector, which prompted a police investigation. Between 2023-24 and 2024-25, provincial OSAP grants to career colleges nearly doubled to about $1 billion. The proposed legislation aims to enhance oversight by limiting OSAP funding to in-person and hybrid programs, requiring physical locations, and prohibiting unrelated businesses on campus. Critics argue that the government’s initial leniency with online-only programs during the pandemic contributed to the current issues.
Written by AI on 2026-11-12, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).
See how they differ ↓

AI analysis

Story summary

Ontario's Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, Nolan Quinn, announced on November 12, 2026, that the Progressive Conservatives will table legislative changes next week to strengthen oversight of private career colleges. The proposed overhaul includes capping the growth of Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) funding for students at these institutions, banning online-only classes from qualifying for OSAP, and requiring career colleges to have a physical location. Additionally, the legislation will prohibit third-party recruiters such as immigration consultants from operating on campus and restrict relationships between career colleges and unrelated third-party organizations. The government initiated these measures after receiving complaints about suspected abuse and fraud at several Greater Toronto Area private colleges, leading to a freeze on OSAP grants for the 2025–26 and 2026–27 academic years. Despite these concerns, the government has not yet announced when OSAP grants will be restored to students at compliant institutions.

Written for “Ontario Caps OSAP Growth At Career Colleges” on 2026-11-13, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

How they differ

3 outlets covered “Ontario Caps OSAP Growth At Career Colleges”.

What each outlet says

One AI summary per outlet of its latest article on this story, written from that article alone and checked against it. Open the article for the outlet's own words.

Global NewsThis outlet12 Nov

Ontario's Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn announced plans to introduce legislation on Monday that would cap the growth of Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) funding for career colleges. This move follows a significant increase in OSAP usage by the sector, which prompted a police investigation. Between 2023-24 and 2024-25, provincial OSAP grants to career colleges nearly doubled to about $1…

Ontario to cap OSAP growth at career colleges following massive increases (this article)
The Globe and Mail12 Nov

Ontario's Progressive Conservative government plans to introduce legislation next week that would restrict government loans to students taking only online classes at private colleges and require these institutions to have physical locations. The proposed changes also aim to curb enrolment growth and prohibit third-party recruiters from operating on campus. Ontario’s Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research…

Ontario seeks to strengthen oversight of career colleges through limits on OSAP, enrolment →
Toronto Sun12 Nov

Ontario plans to introduce legislation next week aimed at curbing abuse and fraud in its student financial assistance program, particularly at private career colleges. The proposed changes include capping enrolment growth, making predominantly online programs ineligible for OSAP funding, requiring physical campuses, and tightening eligibility and verification requirements. Additionally, the province intends to…

Ontario to propose changes to private career colleges →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Sun
Leans right Hedges 1 of 6 claims Outlet record 96/100
The Globe and Mail
Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 51/100
Global News
Leans right Hedges 5 of 33 claims Outlet record 63/100
“Article A discusses a government announcement to cap OSAP growth at career colleges, while Article B reports on a potential closure of a specific dental college due to a province-wide pause on OSAP payments. Although related, these describe different specific events.”
The Globe and Mail
Leans left Hedges 5 of 49 claims Outlet record 51/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the situation: one reports on layoffs at specific colleges due to OSAP freeze, while the other reports on government actions to introduce legislation to cap OSAP growth at career colleges.”
CBC News
Hedges 0 of 1 claims Outlet record 71/100
“Article A mentions a press conference by the minister to address backlash, while Article B reports on new legislation to cap OSAP growth at career colleges, indicating different specific events.”

Story

Ontario Caps OSAP Growth At Career Colleges
Education · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↑
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
2 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
63/100
Global News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Education
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-12 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Global News · 3187 article(s) · 12 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 12 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Olivia Bowden
20 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
Career colleges in Ontario could soon be subject to limits on the growth of students funded by financial aid, following explosive increases in the sector that prompted the government to call in the police.
Eight women and two men died on April 23, 2018, when Minassian — enraged that women wouldn’t sleep with him and radicalized online — deliberately drove a rented van down a crowded sidewalk in his quest for infamy.
But the premier also voiced caution, citing that it will be up to Prime Minister Mark Carney to continue to try to make a trade deal with the president.
In February, the Ford government announced it would significantly cut student assistance grants due to “unsustainable” costs.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he will be “all in” on ending seasonal time changes only if Quebec and parts of the United States are fully on board.
Ford’s government paused Ontario Student Assistance Program payments to all career colleges and private post-secondary institutions while KPMG is conducting an audit looking at serious concerns with the integrity of the system. Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn has said that pause will last until the government puts a new and strengthened approval process in place for career colleges looking for OSAP eligibility, and he expects that to be done in the new year. In the meantime, career college students say they don’t know how they will pay their rent and living expenses, let alone tuition, without their OSAP funding that had been previously approved.
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive senator-elect who won the Michigan race, is someone Ford said he’s willing to work with. “He wants jobs, he wants prosperity.
The Ford government will approve its first swath of new AI data centres “sooner rather than later,” Ontario’s economic development minister says, even as the province faces mounting calls to halt all new construction over environmental and data sovereignty concerns.
As the City of Toronto pushes the Ford government to ink a fresh “new deal” to secure its finances amid a slew of budget pressures, several cabinet ministers at Queen’s Park are indicating the provincial coffers might remain shut, for now.
Sources David West, the mayor of Richmond Hill said Wednesday
Also by Olivia Bowden
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 20 articles by Olivia Bowden →

Topics

Career Colleges Ontario Colleges and Universities KPMG Ontario Ontario Student Assistance Program

Subjects

Quinn PERSON · 5× KPMG ORG · 3× Liberal NORP · 2× OSAP ORG · 2× The Canadian Press ORG · 2× Career Colleges Ontario ORG · 1× Colleges and Universities ORG · 1× Nolan Quinn PERSON · 1× Ontario GPE · 1× Ontario Student Assistance Program ORG · 1×

Narrative

Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn announced that legislation will be introduced on Monday, saying the significant concerns around Ontario Student Assistance Program usage in the sector are far more widespread than first suspected and the bill is intended to increase oversight and accountability. “What we have found here are not minor administrative concerns, but rather co-ordinated, sophisticated efforts to take advantage of students and taxpayers for personal gain,” he said Thursday at a press conference.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-12
Career colleges in Ontario could soon be subject to limits on the growth of students funded by financial aid, following explosive increases in the sector that prompted the government to call in the police.
2026-11-12 · Global News
Ontario to cap OSAP growth at career colleges following massive increases · assertive framing

Claims (24 extracted, 2 hedged)

Career colleges in Ontario could soon be subject to limits on the growth of students funded by financial aid, following explosive increases in the sector that prompted the government to call in the police. uncertain
that → fund → police
Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn announced that legislation will be introduced on Monday, saying the significant concerns around Ontario Student Assistance Program usage in the sector are far more widespread than first suspected and the bill is intended to increase oversight and accountability. “What we have found here are not minor administrative concerns, but rather co-ordinated, sophisticated efforts to take advantage of students and taxpayers for personal gain,” he said Thursday at a press conference. asserted
he → announce → conference
Career Colleges Ontario, which processes OSAP applications for the schools, has removed 24 more campuses from their membership, with an additional 13 under review, Quinn said. asserted
Quinn → process → review
The association has also identified concerns about backdating applications at 33 additional campuses, he said. asserted
he → identify → campuses
“This behaviour is despicable, and it must be stopped,” Quinn said. asserted
Quinn → stop → ?
The legislation is set to include the as-yet undefined cap, limit OSAP funding to in-person and hybrid programs at those institutions and require them to have a physical location, and prohibit them from operating unrelated businesses on campus. asserted
legislation → set → campus
Quinn has said that concerns about career colleges being co-located with immigration and recruitment firms are among issues raised by an ongoing KPMG audit of the sector. asserted
concerns → say → sector
Critics say the problem is one of the government’s own making, allowing online-only programs to qualify for OSAP in the first place during the COVID-19 pandemic and not watching closely enough as growth skyrocketed. asserted
growth → say → pandemic
“If the minister is indicating that this is so systemic, how come they let it get this bad?” asserted
it → indicate → ?
Liberal critic Tyler Watt said. asserted
Watt → say → ?
NDP critic Peggy Sattler said oversight measures proposed in the bill are important, but it never should have come to this. asserted
it → say → this
“This bill is a classic case of closing the barn door after the horses are gone,” she said. asserted
she → close → door
Between 2023-24 and 2024-25, the amount of provincial OSAP grants to career colleges nearly doubled, to about $1 billion in the latter year. asserted
amount → double → year
That was largely due to activity at a small number of career colleges, according to data obtained by The Canadian Press through a freedom-of-information request. uncertain
That → accord → request
The ministry alleges that some of those schools were unable to verify students were attending class or completing their own coursework, allegations the schools deny. asserted
schools → allege → allegations
While the KPMG audit is ongoing, Quinn has paused OSAP payments to all private post-secondary institutions, causing some students to drop out and some colleges to consider closing their doors. asserted
colleges → pause → doors
Quinn has said the government is working on securing low-interest loans for students through banks until the pause is lifted in the new year, but he has so far not indicated a timeline for that. asserted
he → say → that
Colleges and students are calling on the government to weed out any bad actors in a way that doesn’t also penalize institutions and students who follow the rules. asserted
who → call → rules
Premier Doug Ford has said KPMG auditors have been tasked with clearing low-risk schools first. asserted
auditors → say → schools
Interim Liberal leader John Fraser said the government is holding innocent students hostage with the OSAP pause. asserted
government → say → pause
“The rent doesn’t wait,” he said. asserted
he → wait → ?
“The grocery bill doesn’t wait. asserted
bill → wait → ?
The kids’ clothes don’t wait, and this government’s saying, ‘wait,'” Fraser said. asserted
Fraser → wait → ?
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2026. asserted
report → publish → Press
Give feedback · no sign-in needed

No sign-in needed for now. Your note is sent without a name, so it cannot be answered.

History Support