Content warning: This article mentions anti-Indigenous hate, residential schools, and misogyny.
Last month, York University announced that it will pause enrolment in 18 undergraduate programs, most of which are cultural studies programs, citing low enrolment and the need to “achieve financial sustainability in light of unexpected policy directions at the provincial and federal levels affecting higher education.”
Notably, these “policy directions” include the federal government tightening international student study permit regulations and the provincial government’s underfunding post-secondary institutions.
I see York University’s decision to suspend these programs, notably Indigenous studies and gender and women’s studies, as a dangerous step backward in an era of rising ‘anti-wokeness,’ anti-Indigenous hate, online misogynistic rhetoric, and a second Trump presidency that has continued its war on civil rights. This suspension also reveals the fragility of Canada’s post-secondary funding model, which has become overly dependent on international student tuition.
Despite public perception pertaining to these programs’ “worthlessness,” their ability to promote social justice, a sense of belonging, and reconciliation is important to students, the wider community, and our country — and Canadian universities must continue to offer them, independent of government immigration policy.
What is at stake
York removing certain cultural studies programs suggests that it views these programs as expendable or lacking ‘real’ market value, reaffirming the popular “college-educated barista” trope. I believe this is part of a larger trend to “corporatize” higher education, emphasizing economic demands over student learning and skill-building.
Studies demonstrate similar outcomes between humanities and STEM majors in career satisfaction, job interest, and financial contentment — but the stereotypes of the unemployed humanities graduate persists.
Beyond economic reasoning, these programs also have a larger societal impact. Women and gender studies departments — despite many elite universities relegating them to “second-class status” — serve as defenders of social justice in academic institutions. They also help students foster a sense of belonging and act as “sites of transformation and liberation.”
A program like this is increasingly important in a time of growing disdain and hate pertaining to conversations about gender and sexuality, exemplified by the 2023 stabbing attack in a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo.
Indigenous studies is another program, alongside gender and women’s studies, York University slated for suspension. This is particularly concerning to me given the rise of anti-Indigenous hate, residential school denialism, the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and what has been described as Canada’s “painfully slow path to reconciliation.”
I believe universities and the education system at large have a unique responsibility in reconciliation due to their complicity in the assimilation and systemic oppression of Indigenous people throughout Canadian history.
York University’s Decolonizing, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (DEDI) Strategy states that “York is committed to the work of truth and reconciliation, to recognize and redress how academic institutions perpetuate colonialism, and to explore ways of transforming the University.”
Given this, it remains unclear to me how the York administration can justify suspending the Indigenous studies program.
A statement released by York’s Indigenous studies faculty described the program as providing “an essential academic and cultural home” for Indigenous students, warning that its suspension threatens the university’s ability to meet its obligations under the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its DEDI strategy.
This decision feels emblematic of the performative allyship that often characterizes institutions’ commitments to Indigenous communities.
A broken funding model
York established suspending 18 programs as a necessary step toward “financial sustainability.” However, cutting programs — a move that risks pitting disciplines against one another — is not the solution. The university should instead join student organizations and other advocates in demanding public funding for post-secondary education.
York University is the first Ontario university to suspend programs on Indigenous and gender studies, but the issue is not unique to York. Budget cuts are affecting post-secondary institutions across Ontario — a direct consequence of the federal government’s decision to reduce international student permits by 35 per cent in 2024 and 10 per cent in 2025.
Seneca College will temporarily close one of its campuses, while Centennial College is shutting down its East York campus and suspending 49 programs.
The provincial government must prioritize funding for public colleges and universities. Many advocates, including the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, have urged the government to allocate $1.4 billion to help Ontario colleges offset the loss of tuition revenue due to reduced international student enrolment.
In 2021, international student fees accounted for 68 per cent of all tuition fee revenue at 24 public Ontario colleges, highlighting the schools’ dependence on these fees. Similarly, in 2024, international student tuition contributed to 42 per cent of U of T’s total revenue, despite comprising 31.1 per cent of the student body.
Given the Ford government’s history of underfunding post-secondary institutions, I highly doubt its new sweeping majority will alleviate the impact of budget cuts on these institutions. Under Ford’s leadership, Ontario universities have received the lowest per-student funding in Canada, falling nearly $4,000 below the national average of $12,215.
Coupled with the government’s freeze on post-secondary tuition, Ford has forced universities to rely more on international students to fund their operations. I worry that this dependence on international students could undermine Canadian universities’ ability to offer a diverse range of programs, making them increasingly vulnerable to shifts in government immigration policy, as seen in the case of York.
It is evident that York’s suspension of cultural studies programs is not an isolated incident but rather a reflection of broader structural funding issues — issues I fear could also affect U of T.
However, rather than succumbing to these pressures and sidelining marginalized students and cultural studies programs, post-secondary institutions have a responsibility to mobilize against further cuts, stand in solidarity with unions, student groups, and advocates, and ensure they do not become complicit in the erosion of academia in Ontario.
Universities must protect their ability to foster a dynamic, diverse educational experience while advancing reconciliation efforts and remaining independent of volatile government policies regarding the international student market.
Ahmed Hawamdeh is a third-year student at Trinity College studying public policy, political science, and French. He is the Domestic Affairs Columnist for The Varsity’s Opinion section.
