Despite early concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic could pose serious financial challenges for Canadian universities, a recent report from Statistics Canada reveals that the sector recorded a budget surplus of $1.5 billion in 2021-22. This figure is down $6.2 billion from the previous year's $7.7 billion high, due to pandemic and market-related circumstances that resulted in nearly across-the-board declines in revenue, coupled with a slight increase in expenditures.
2021-22 witnessed the conclusion of pandemic-related governmental grants, softening investment incomes and a gradual return to on campus activities - plus, in the background, a particularly severe uptick in inflation. In 2022, the annual growth of Canada's Consumer Price Index hit a 40-year high.
The Statistics Canada report primarily makes comparisons with data from 2020-21. David Robinson, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, said this data may not provide a solid baseline due to the early impacts of the pandemic. However, the comparison does offer a snapshot of the short-term financial fluctuations that the sector has seen since 2020.
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