CNC President addresses the 2026-27 budget

Apr 27, 2026 | 4:51 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The College of New Caledonia’s President is speaking out following the approval of the 2026-27 operating budget that has seen more downsizing. CNC President Cindy Heitman says 80 total layoffs have taken place this year. In addition to layoffs, the closure of the College’s Fort St. James campus and the cancellation and suspension of 26 programs have further highlighted the financial struggles.

“We saw an overall reduction of about 11% of our workforce for this year. This is on top of what happened last year as well as over two years where we saw a loss of about $15 million in revenue. So it’s been two years of accumulated workforce reductions and the bulk of the reductions this year is from faculty. We have about 1500 fewer students so we need less faculty to teach classes.” said Heitman.

Following a federal change to international student policy and with it declining tuition revenues, the college like others across the country have had to make difficult decisions to ensure sustainability moving forward.

“I think across the country, international revenue became something that the schools really relied on to do some really great and creative things. Unfortunately, when the decisions were made and they were made quickly, schools didn’t have time to plan for the reduction in the revenue that they were going to see over the next couple of years. So it it did definitely shock the system.” added Heitman.

College of New Caledonia

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Despite the difficult changes being made Heitman says there is a strong plan moving forward including the launch of a youth strategy on Tuesday which will focus on partnering with local school districts and engage with the youth at a earlier age.

“We’ve really changed our focus to increasing our domestic enrollment. We are working very closely with our industry partners and seeing what it is that they need for skills and training over the next 5 to 10 years. The college has really shifted towards being very intentional. We’ve stopped trying to be all things to all people, and we’re reducing our program offerings so that what we do, we can do very well so that it attracts new students who want to come here because this is the place to learn and study in that particular discipline.” said Heitman.

Heitman has confirmed that the job cuts will continue until July.

by Nick Dube

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CNC President addresses the 2026-27 budget

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