Similar to universities, student college fees represent an increasing share of revenues. They rose from one-quarter (24.8%) of total revenues in 2014/2015 to account for just under one-third (32.2%) of the $9.8 billion in total revenue for colleges in 2018/2019. This increasing share of revenue comes from international students, who pay up to four times more in tuition than Canadian students.
In 2018/2019, revenue for Canada's 166 public colleges, CEGEPs and polytechnics rose 7.6% from a year earlier to $9.8 billion, while expenditures rose 5.4% to $9.6 billion. This resulted in a reported budget surplus of $187 million or 1.9% of total revenues, up from a deficit of $18 million, or 0.2% of revenues in 2017/2018.
Since the data series began in 2000/2001, colleges have kept a relatively balanced budget, where budgetary deficits were at a maximum of 4.0% of revenue. However, colleges will face unprecedented financial pressures in the 2020/2021 fiscal year due to COVID-19. Fewer international college students coming to Canada because of travel restrictions, the added strain on provincial budgets during the pandemic (the largest source of college revenue) and lower revenue from other ancillary businesses, may negatively affect college revenue. Moreover, the need to develop online learning platforms to adapt to a new teaching environment will also likely increase college expenditures.
