Northern British Columbia — Due to significant changes in international education implemented by Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Coast Mountain College (CMTN) programs are now of limited interest to international students. As a result, new international student registrations at CMTN are less than 10% of 2023 numbers. This means that revenue from international student tuition will no longer be available to supplement CMTN’s operating budget.
CMTN is working to cut $4 million in expenditures to reach a balanced budget for the 2026 fiscal year and support the sustainability of the college for many years to come. “This will require some difficult but necessary decisions to refocus college operations so that CMTN is running a balanced budget without international student tuition revenue. Once scaled back, the college will be in a good position to strategically grow its operations in a focused manner,” says Dr. Laurie Waye, President and CEO.
College executives have been transparent in sharing the situation with staff as it has evolved, starting in February 2025. Joint union/management meetings have continued over the summer to discuss the implications of this budget constriction and develop appropriate strategies.
CMTN has already implemented expense reductions this year including eliminating 17% of management positions, limiting travel, limiting overtime hours, leaving vacant positions open, and adjusting pricing for food services and student housing. While these changes have helped, the required $4M in savings cannot be achieved without additional staffing reductions.
In order to mitigate the number of involuntary layoffs required, the college will begin a canvassing period from September 8 to 19 when unionized staff can consider if they are interested in an early retirement incentive or a voluntary departure incentive. At the end of the canvassing period, some of those that put their names forward may qualify for an incentive. Applications will be reviewed based on the criteria outlined in their collective agreement and on an assessment of their role in the context of the institutional operations.
The required budget reduction will not likely be achieved through the incentive process alone, so some layoff notices will be issued in October. “It is unknown at this time what the number of layoffs will be. We first need to analyse what options present themselves through the canvassing, what roles or work tasks the institution can function without while minimizing the impact for students, and what work will need to be maintained or reassigned,” says Heather Bastin, Executive Director, External Relations.
During the September 5 CMTN Board of Governors meeting, the Board also reviewed the college executive’s recommendation to sell two real-estate assets as part of the restructuring plan.
“Previously, the college was not permitted by the Government of BC to sell real-estate assets, so CMTN leased buildings that were no longer needed for education functions. This has changed and we are now able to take steps to reduce our real-estate holdings, thus reducing the costs of property management and maintenance in our overall budget,” says Waye. The Kitimat building has been leased out since 2012 and the building in Houston has been leased out since 2017.
CMTN is now working with the Government of BC to sell real-estate assets in Kitimat and Houston and put aside the funds for future capital projects that will benefit students across northwest BC.
“We are committed to offering quality education in these communities as we have been doing for more than a decade, by renting appropriate spaces for courses and programs when needed or using our two mobile training units,” says Waye.
The disposition of assets process is dictated by BC’s Ministry of Infrastructure, in order to maintain the government’s ability to offer new or enhanced services to local communities, by keeping assets within the government service sector, when possible.
The sale of Kitimat and Houston real estate will occur within the current and the next fiscal year, before April 2027.
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Media Contact:
Heather Bastin
Executive Director, External Relations
hbastin@coastmountaincollege.ca
Mobile: 250-615-3855