Liberals allege Ford government has political ties to career colleges under OSAP probe

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Cite

D’Mello, C. (2026, October 14). Liberals allege Ford government has political ties to career colleges under OSAP probe. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/12102367/liberals-allege-ford-government-has-political-ties-to-career-colleges-under-osap-probe/

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

Global News · collected 2026-10-14 · by Colin D’Mello

Quick Summary

The Ontario government, led by Premier Doug Ford, suspended six private career colleges from receiving OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program) funding in early October due to potential misuse of taxpayer dollars. The Progressive Conservatives are facing allegations from the Liberal Party that they have political ties with some of these institutions, including cabinet ministers attending campus openings and college founders donating to the PC Party. Tyler Watt, a Liberal critic, and party leader John Fraser are calling for Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn to resign over what they describe as incompetence or potential corruption in handling the OSAP scandal.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-14, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

The Ford government in Ontario is facing allegations of political ties to operators of private career colleges under investigation for potential misuse of taxpayer dollars through OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program) fraud. In early October, the government suspended six private career colleges from OSAP eligibility and launched a sector-wide audit after finding possible criminal activity. Tyler Watt, Liberal critic for universities and colleges, alleged that cabinet ministers attended an opening ceremony at one of these colleges shortly after it was probed by government inspectors. Elections Ontario records show that founders of some private career colleges have donated to the Progressive Conservative Party since 2024. The OPP is currently assessing whether a full criminal investigation should be launched.

Written for “OSAP Probe And Political Ties Allegations” on 2026-10-14, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.65, but all 4 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 80012: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-14

Story

📰 OSAP Probe And Political Ties Allegations
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Globe and Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 8% hedged 2 of 24 📰 publisher trust 52
“Article A specifically discusses the extension of a ban on three career colleges from accessing OSAP until 2030, while Article B addresses broader political allegations and the suspension of six private career colleges under investigation.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 8% hedged 2 of 26 📰 publisher trust 63
“Article A focuses on the minister's decision to extend OSAP restrictions for three career colleges until 2030, while Article B discusses broader political allegations and a sector-wide audit involving multiple colleges.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
64/100
Global News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-14 · 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 · 1699 article(s) · 8 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 8 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Colin D’Mello
12 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 In early October, the government said it had suspended six private career colleges from their OSAP eligibility and launched a sector-wide audit into the potential misuse of taxpayer dollars, after internal investigations found the actions of some colleges may have involved criminality.
🔮 While six institutions were suspended by the ministry, the government said it would take a broad approach to the entire sector in order the “support the integrity of the OSAP system” by pausing their eligibility altogether.
🔮 The key decision maker behind the mass layoffs at a century-old steel mill in Hamilton says “no amount of money” from the federal government would have convinced Stelco to continue manufacturing product with low demand in Canada.
🔮 “Since the launch of the program, 36 applications have been received totaling just under $100 million,” said Deputy Minister of Finance Gadi Mayman told the committee.
🔮 Days before a prominent Hamilton steelmaker announced it would lay off more than 350 employees due to the trade war with the United States, the company informed the Ford government of the upcoming job losses.
2026-09-29 · assertive framing · Ford government given advance warning of Stelco layoffs
🔮 “I will commit, and I’ll talk to our friend the boss there (Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy) to see if we can put money into revitalize Taste of the Danforth.”
🔮 The Ford government would need to dramatically increase health care resources and build stand-alone treatment centres if the province wants to involuntarily enter drug addicts to rehabilitation programs, according to mental health and addiction experts.
🔮 While those criticisms have mainly been aired in news coverage of the Ford government, direct questions will have to wait until the autumn.
🔮 You will see that we fly economy almost all the time.
🔮 The effort, however, was immediately dismissed by Premier Doug Ford, who suggested that type of government intervention would be considered “socialism.”
Also by Colin D’Mello
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 12 articles by Colin D’Mello →

Topics

Liberal Liberal Party OPP Ontario the Progressive Conservatives

Subjects

Fraser PERSON · 3× OPP ORG · 3× Ontario GPE · 3× Quinn PERSON · 3× Ford ORG · 2× Liberal NORP · 2× the Progressive Conservatives NORP · 2× Elections Ontario ORG · 1× Liberal Party ORG · 1× Tyler Watt PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Tyler Watt, the Liberal critic for universities and colleges, alleged Wednesday that cabinet ministers attended the campus opening of one of the suspected colleges mere months after the school was probed by government inspectors. Elections Ontario records show that the founders of one private career college also donated to the PC Party since 2024.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-14
🔮 In early October, the government said it had suspended six private career colleges from their OSAP eligibility and launched a sector-wide audit into the potential misuse of taxpayer dollars, after internal investigations found the actions of some colleges may have involved criminality.

Claims (20 extracted, 1 hedged)

As the Ford government grapples with a growing OSAP scandal at private career colleges, the Progressive Conservatives are facing new accusations of having political ties with the operators of some institutions that are under scrutiny. asserted
that → grapple → scrutiny
In early October, the government said it had suspended six private career colleges from their OSAP eligibility and launched a sector-wide audit into the potential misuse of taxpayer dollars, after internal investigations found the actions of some colleges may have involved criminality. uncertain
actions → say → criminality
The government referred the findings to the OPP, which is currently determining whether to launch a full criminal investigation. asserted
which → refer → investigation
Ontario’s Liberal Party, however, is questioning why the government didn’t act sooner despite receiving warnings as early as 2023 from a career college advocacy group, and accused the Progressive Conservatives of turning a blind eye. asserted
government → question → eye
Tyler Watt, the Liberal critic for universities and colleges, alleged Wednesday that cabinet ministers attended the campus opening of one of the suspected colleges mere months after the school was probed by government inspectors. Elections Ontario records show that the founders of one private career college also donated to the PC Party since 2024. asserted
founders → allege → 2024
records show that the same school hired lobbyists who previously worked in the premier’s office. asserted
who → show → office
Get daily National news “At best, it is incompetence and mismanagement. asserted
it → get → news
At worst, it’s potential corruption,” Liberal leader John Fraser told reporters. asserted
Fraser → ’ → reporters
Fraser and Watt are also calling on Nolan Quinn, the province’s colleges and universities minister, to resign. asserted
Fraser → call → Quinn
“He has not done his job, and that’s why he needs to step down. asserted
he → do → job
We need someone who’s actually going to take control of this absolute dumpster fire,” said Fraser. asserted
Fraser → need → fire
The accusations come as the government took additional steps to mitigate the damage. asserted
government → come → damage
The Canadian Press reported Wednesday that Quinn barred three career colleges from being able to offer publicly funded student assistance until 2030. asserted
Quinn → report → 2030
Previously, those colleges were only blocked for the year. asserted
colleges → block → year
There are currently 242 career colleges that are eligible to receive OSAP in Ontario, all of which have now been cut off from the provincial program. asserted
all → be → program
Those actions have left students without promised funding just weeks into their school years and have left many without means to pay housing and food costs, said Fraser. asserted
Fraser → leave → costs
Career Colleges Ontario, the association representing hundreds of institutions, is urging the Ford government to reinstate student financial aid for students who were already approved. asserted
who → represent → students
Quinn said last week an internal investigation found “unusually high concentrations of OSAP applications submitted from the same geographic locations” and also pointed to the involvement of “immigration services firms” being directly tied or co-owned by some of the probed career colleges. asserted
investigation → say → colleges
The government referred those findings to auditing firm KPMG for a further probe and Quinn said the government has also reported “it to the OPP and the Auditor General.” asserted
government → refer → OPP
While the OPP is deciding whether to investigate, Ontario’s Auditor General told Global News the office only received a “notification” from the government, but that the province stopped short of requesting a formal value-for-money audit. asserted
province → decide → audit
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