OSAP recipients at one Ontario private college campus up nearly 6,000%, investigation finds

TORONTO — A new investigation has found a sharp rise in the number of students receiving government financial aid at a private college in Ontario, by nearly 6,000% at one of its campuses. The college was not covered by the funding suspensions the provincial government announced last spring.

The Canadian College of Business, Science and Technology has expanded its use of the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) at an exceptional rate.

The figures have drawn sharp criticism of Doug Ford's government, along with questions about why it did not step in earlier to look into the unusual increase.

Recipients rose from 562 to 17,000 students

The data show that 562 students at the college's four Greater Toronto Area campuses received OSAP aid in the 2021-2022 academic year.

By 2024-2025, that number had jumped to 17,157 students, an increase of nearly 3,000% in three years.

At one campus, the number of recipients rose from 74 students to 4,481, an increase of 5,955%.

The value of government grants for students at that campus also rose by more than 8,000%, reaching $39 million.

In total, students at the college's four campuses received about $151 million in provincial grants in the 2024-2025 academic year.

Online learning behind the large increase

The data show that most of the increase was tied to the expansion of programs delivered online.

In the 2021-2022 academic year, students studying online and receiving OSAP made up only about 6% of the total.

By 2024-2025, that share had risen to more than 97%.

The shift raises questions about how student enrolment and actual participation in studies are verified, particularly at institutions that rely almost entirely on distance learning.

However, a rise in student numbers or the use of online learning is not in itself evidence of wrongdoing or fraud.

Why did the Ontario government not halt the college's funding?

Last May, Ontario's Minister of Colleges and Universities, Nolan Quinn, removed OSAP eligibility from six campuses belonging to two private educational institutions.

The decisions covered four Academy of Learning campuses and two Citi College campuses, over concerns about student admission practices.

The Canadian College of Business, Science and Technology was not among the institutions targeted, even though some of its campuses recorded much higher growth rates.

The minister's office did not directly explain why the college was left out of the May decisions, saying only that the government will take strong action when serious violations are found.

Opposition accuses government of failing to act

Peggy Sattler, the NDP's higher education critic, criticized the government's handling of the file.

She said that failing to notice an increase of nearly 6,000% reflects a serious failure of management and oversight.

She also asked why public money continued to be paid out despite indicators that called for further review.

Liberal MPP Tyler Watt said the figures should have caught the ministry's attention. He asked whether the government discovered the problems itself or merely relied on warnings from federal bodies.

The college and its president did not respond to repeated requests for comment, according to The Canadian Press.

New measures and tighter oversight of colleges

The Ontario government has said it intends to introduce a bill on Monday, Nov. 16, that would cap growth in the number of OSAP-funded students at private career colleges.

The proposed measures include excluding online programs entirely from funding and tightening the conditions for accrediting educational institutions.

The government had suspended OSAP payments to private educational institutions in October, while an audit by KPMG is carried out.

Students at private career colleges have also lost eligibility for provincial grants starting in the 2026-2027 academic year, although they can still obtain loans if they meet the conditions.

The government says the reforms are necessary to protect public funds, while educational institutions warn that students who have done nothing wrong will be harmed.