Ontario commits $1.7 billion to add 40,000 post-secondary seats across province

Ontario is investing $1.7 billion to create 40,000 new post-secondary seats at publicly assisted colleges and universities, with funding distributed across STEM, health care, education, skilled trades, and other labour-market-driven programs.

Students could access the seats as early as fall 2026. The announcement comes as Ontario faces an expected demand for more than one million university-educated workers over the next decade. McMaster University will receive $90 million to create 2,769 new seats; the province has not yet announced how the remaining seats will be distributed among other Ontario colleges and universities beyond McMaster.

Toronto Metropolitan University was previously identified as among schools expected to benefit from the investment. More details on Toronto-area allocations are expected in coming weeks.

According to the Council of Ontario Universities, expanding capacity in STEM, artificial intelligence, health care, education and other priority fields will strengthen Ontario's talent pipeline at a crucial time. The province received support for the plan from more than 1,000 letters from employers in selected fields calling for expanded capacity.

The investment builds on Ontario's earlier plan announced in February 2026, which committed $6.4 billion over four years to the post-secondary sector.