Alberta student employment programs cancelled by government funding cuts | CBC News

Edmonton’s NorQuest College says programs and classes have been cancelled for hundreds of students in September in a domino effect of reductions to federal employment preparation funding.

Among the cancelled programs is an Edmonton-based, year-long experience for young adults with developmental disabilities to prepare them for work and offer job experience.

“It really felt like a foolproof program,” said Janis Liston, whose 19-year-old son Gage was registered to start NorQuest’s transitions to employment program.

Gage is on the autism spectrum and has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Post-secondary opportunities for young adults with developmental disabilities are rare, Liston said.

She learned about the program in early 2023, and Gage applied a year ago. He was so excited about attending college, making friends, learning interview and resume writing skills and completing a work placement, he had already bought college-branded swag.

Liston said the family’s excitement turned to shock and anger last week when unexpected funding cuts prompted NorQuest to pare back four programs.

“I honestly thought we were being pranked,” Liston said.

Transitions to Employment was eliminated in Edmonton, but will still run in Wetaskiwin, says Melissa Rothwell, the college’s academic program manager of innovative education in the faculty of skills and foundational learning. She said 24 students with developmental disabilities are affected.

Also cancelled is a dayhome provider program, where 16 prospective students — most of them immigrant women of colour — would learn skills to open new child care options, she said.

Rothwell said the college also had to limit space and courses in its academic upgrading program, where adults finish high school credits, and English-as-a-second-language training.

She didn’t have a precise number, but said hundreds of students who were scheduled to start class are being turned away.

“It’s heartbreaking to tell people that already have barriers that they might not be able to attend post-secondary and to contribute to the Alberta economy,” she said in a Friday interview. “That they were expecting to be trained or receive education to enable themselves to break some of the barriers that they’re facing has been devastating for everyone involved.”

The majority of academic upgrading students at the college are women, and one in six is Indigenous, she said.

ESL students are new Canadians and permanent residents strengthening their language skills to attend school or find a job.

Employment funding squabble

The Alberta government says the root of the funding interruption is the federal government’s decision to discontinue a top-up to labour market transfer agreements (LMTAs), which help pay for employment programs across the country.

Top-up funding started in 2017, and in 2023, the federal government told provinces those top-ups would cease in a year.

In an emailed statement last week, Alberta Jobs, Employment and Trade Minister Matt Jones said the top-ups were to buy time to address inequities in funding across the country, and that work isn’t finished. Jones said Alberta received less funding per capita in 2024-25 than the Canadian average.

Jones’ statement demanded the federal government reverse the “reckless decision.”

The funding to Alberta this year dropped nearly $71 million to about $251 million.

The reduction affected provincial programs in multiple ministries. The jobs ministry halted its Canada-Alberta Job Grant program, and all other programs are under review, Jones’ press secretary said.

Advanced Education Minister Rajan Sawhney said in an emailed statement the federal funding reduction has also put the province’s foundational learning assistance program at risk.

The provincial program, which planned on a budget of nearly $117 million this year, helps students in need pay for living costs, tuition, books, supplies, transportation or child care while enrolled full-time in an upskilling or re-skilling program. Government reports say more than 8,400 students received the funds last year.

“We are currently assessing options in response to this federal funding cut. No decisions have been made at this time,” Sawhney’s statement said.

Mathis Denis, press secretary for Randy Boissonnault, federal minister of employment, workforce development and official languages, said in an email last week provinces knew about, and should have planned for the funding changes.

He said they can also expect more federal revenue through changes to the capital gains tax.

“Alberta posted a $4 billion-dollar surplus last year; it is disappointing that they are not willing to step up for Alberta workers,” Denis wrote.

Changes sent post-secondaries scrambling

Caught in the middle of the dispute are universities, colleges, and other organizations that run programs that prepare people for employment and career transitions.

Sudden budget reductions to foundational learning assistance program (FLAP) prompted NorQuest’s decisions, Rothwell said.

In July, the province informed NorQuest of an “unexpected reduction” in funding, she said.

The ramifications at other institutions is less clear. CBC News contacted five institutions that offer similar programs.

A Mount Royal University spokesperson said there are no immediate plans to limit participation for students who use FLAP funding.

Other organizations did not respond by publication time.

Now scrambling to find other options are Gage Liston, and 20-year-old Moses Melnyk, who was also registered to start the transitions to employment program at NorQuest.

“This is one of the few programs that will help him,” Moses’ dad Ron Melnyk said in an interview. “Not guaranteed, but it’ll give him the best success in getting a job. And to get a job is to have a purpose.”

When Moses learned a previous graduate is now training to be a forklift operator, he was excited, his dad says. He wants to get his driver’s licence, work as an equipment or truck driver, and live on his own, Ron Melnyk said.

When the program was cancelled, Ron Melnyk said his son became angry and hopeless.

“This is a program that doesn’t need to be cut,” Ron Melnyk said. “This is something that benefits all of society.”