Canada's 147 public universities spent $28.9 billion during the 2018/2019 academic year, unchanged from 2017/2018. Revenues increased 3.1% to $30.7 billion. Tuition fees from international students accounted for over one-third of the tuition fees received by Canadians universities in 2018/2019.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the Canadian economy and postsecondary institutions are no exception, especially in light of uncertainty surrounding international student enrollment. To better assess the potential financial impact of the pandemic on Canadian universities, projection scenarios have been developed which indicate that, overall, these institutions could be facing potential losses ranging from $377 million (-0.8%) to $3.4 billion (-7.5%) during the 2020/2021 academic year depending on the scenario.
Government funding is the largest source of revenue
Universities and degree-granting colleges receive approximately three-quarters of their funding from government sources (45.8%) and tuition fees (29.4%). The remainder comes from donations, private grants, investments and other minor revenue streams. Funding from provincial governments rose by $48.1 million from a year earlier to $10.9 billion in 2018/2019. However, as a share of total funding, provincial funding has decreased over time, falling from 38.6% in 2013/2014 to 35.4% in 2018/2019.
In addition to provincial funding, federal government funding accounted for $3 billion in revenues in 2018/2019. Almost all of the federal funding (93.4%) was directed toward sponsored research through research granting programs, such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council or the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council. The remaining 6.6% was used for general operating, special purpose, ancillary and capital expenditures. Provincial funding was primarily earmarked for operating costs and capital spending.
