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Category: Canada

The Canada Student Grant Cut

Somewhat remarkably, no media have picked up the story that the Canada Student Grants were slashed in last week’s budget. Possibly, this is because the government did not issue a press release saying in big letters, “HEY, WE ARE LOADING MORE DEBT ON LOW-INCOME STUDENTS”, and, without such an admission, no one wants to do the hard work of working out what just is going on.   So, let me save everyone the trouble. Here’s what happened: In the 2019 election,

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November 10, 2025 No Comments

Budget Commentary 2025

Hi all. Budget Day was yesterday, and it was a doozy. The HESA Towers team worked late into the night putting together our usual Budget Commentary for you to peruse at your leisure. We hope you enjoy it. But if you haven’t the time to read it in full, here are the five big takeaways. First, although large spending cuts were previewed, the cuts that occurred could not prevent the government from racking up a budget which in real terms was similar to the

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November 5, 2025 4 Comments

Quebec’s Private Student Loan Moment

Although we tend to think of student loans as either being something done by banks for profit or by governments to correct for market failures, there is a third type of student loan: namely, private, not-for-profit companies using a mix of private and public funds for charitable reasons. Probably the most globally significant institution pursuing this path is the Dominican Republic’s FUNDAPEC, which has its origins in a private sector effort to establish higher education in that country during a

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October 28, 2025 1 Comment

Re: University | Join the Conversation Before It’s Too Late

Hello Everyone, The Re: University team here! I know you didn’t expect to hear from us this week, but we just passed the 100-day mark until the Re: University conference and the excitement is getting real. For those of you who don’t know, we are hosting the conference in the Marriott Ottawa on January 29th and 30th.  Our full agenda will be released soon but we have begun announcing our speakers and themes. Our two-day agenda is focused on exploration

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October 23, 2025 No Comments

That Alberta Post-Secondary Review, Again

Just before I headed out on a work/vacation trip (I’m in Costa Rica today), the Government of Alberta dropped the report of the Expert Panel on Post-Secondary Institution Funding and Alberta’s Competitiveness, which I had previewed back here when the panel was formed about a year ago. So, on the way to the airport, I dashed off this blog to give you all the skinny.  First: it’s a good report! Might be the most sensible report on PSE that’s come out in Canada for quite

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October 15, 2025 2 Comments
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One Thought to Start Your Day

One Thought to Start Your Day is our founder and CEO Alex Usher’s popular daily blog, brimming with up-to-the-minute insights and informed opinions on today’s higher education industry.

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