“Stop cutting classes”: Alberta students unite in open letter to government
By Vama Saini, February 24 2025—
As the province’s 2025 budget announcement looms, post-secondary students across Alberta are sounding the alarm. A joint open letter, signed by 25 student associations representing more than 290,000 students, warned that continued budget cuts — initiated in 2019 — are degrading the quality of Alberta’s higher education system and jeopardizing the province’s economic future.
The open letter, signed on Feb. 11, 2025, lays out a stark message: “Enough is enough.”
“Students are sending a clear message that enough is enough and packing up and leaving this province,” said Ermia Rezaei-Afsah, President of the University of Calgary Students’ Union. “The quality of Alberta’s post-secondary education keeps declining, and at this point, it’s hard not to feel that this is by design.”
Lily Schaerer, Chair of the Alberta Students Executive Council (ASEC), echoed the urgency.
“Alberta historically has been a leader in education, but with post-secondary funding receiving annual cuts since 2019, it’s time to sound the alarm that our province’s economic future is being put at risk,” she said.
The letter highlights statistics that underscore the crisis. Nearly 60 per cent of bachelor’s students and about one-third of college students in Alberta are expected to graduate with at least $25,000 in debt. Tuition for various programs has risen by 20 per cent to 70 per cent since 2019, and mounting non-instructional fees and living expenses continue to burden students.
These challenges, the letter warns, are prompting many Albertans to pursue education and job opportunities in other provinces — jeopardizing the local workforce and the province’s long-standing competitive edge.
Rezaei-Afsah discussed Alberta’s struggle to retain local talent.
“It’s clear that Alberta experiences significant human capital flight,” said Rezaei-Afsah. Albertans graduating here are less likely to stay than those in provinces like Quebec or BC. Alberta just fails to attract and keep talent.”
The signatories argue that this renewed investment is essential to reduce student debt and improve academic services — such as mental health support and academic advising — but also to preserve Alberta’s reputation as a hub of educational excellence and innovation.
Rezaei-Afsah spoke about how the budget cuts affect the U of C campus.
“Since 2019, when the budget cuts started, they weren’t just a one-off reduction,” explained Rezaei-Afsah. “They were sustained cuts with no increases, meaning our operating costs keep rising while the quality of education keeps dropping.”
Tala Abu Hayyaneh, President of the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University (MRUSA), shared insights into how these funding reductions are affecting MRU, particularly the personal learning environment students have long enjoyed.
“MRU is known for its intimate class sizes and personal learning experience, and a lot of students come here specifically for that,” explained Abu Hayyaneh. “But the reality is that as funding decreases, it’s becoming harder for students to register for the classes they need. There just isn’t the space in classrooms, and we’re seeing more competition for spots. Students might delay their graduation by a semester just because there’s no room to expand certain courses.”
Rezaei-Afsah noted that these budget cuts have resulted in a staggering amount of deferred maintenance.
“We all hear stories about the decrepit conditions in Craigie Hall — it’s right in front of our faces,” he said. “And beyond the physical state of our campus, research and innovation are suffering, with fewer scholarship and research opportunities available for both undergraduates and graduates.”
Abu Hayyaneh shared remarks on the challenges of maintaining MRU campus facilities, such as deferred maintenance.
“There are clear areas where we need expansion,” she said. “Maintaining our recreation facilities, ensuring accessible campuses and even updating old furniture are all vital to keeping MRU attractive and functional for students.”
Technical and trade programs at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) have also borne the brunt of budget cuts. SAIT Students’ Association (SAITSA) President Ahmad Baker emphasized the challenges his campus faces.
“It’s not just about needing more equipment — it’s about making sure that our instructors remain in place permanently rather than being shuffled around,” he said. “We need funding that allows us to access quality equipment and materials for our projects, ensuring that our students can truly thrive.”
Rezaei-Afsah further addressed the financial challenges the university faces after the international student cap. The U of C anticipates an $11 million dollar loss in revenue as a result.
“They were using international students essentially as cash cows in the past to fill in our budget gaps,” he said. “Without the province stepping in to actually fund post-secondary institutions properly, we’re looking at more program cuts and a continually worsening campus experience.”
Rezaei-Afsah criticized the province’s reliance on targeted investments in high-demand fields.
“The problem with targeted enrollment expansion is that it is not future-forward thinking. It’s reactive — it’s funding for a specific period for a specific unit,” he said. “A university is called a university for a reason — it all flows into itself. If money only goes to, say, a medicine program, what happens to the rest of the institution?”
Abu Hayyaneh stressed that the affordability crisis has also become a significant issue.
“I think what we’ve really seen is that the affordability crisis has exacerbated over the last two years,” she explained. “Students are skipping meals because of food insecurity or choosing to delay their degree progression to cut back on courses. This delay means it takes much longer for students to graduate.”
Baker noted that while there have been some investments from the Government of Alberta to support trade programs, internal challenges remain.
“When we get that funding, our concern is how to ensure all students benefit — not just in technical training but also in mental health and career advising. If instructors aren’t motivated because of unstable funding, all the hard work in the classroom goes to waste,” he explained.
Baker observed the financial hardships facing students at SAIT.
“Our bi-weekly chats reveal that while tuition hasn’t spiked as high as at some other institutions, students are still worried. With rent and living costs soaring, many of them are forced to ask, ‘Should I pay my tuition, or should I pay my rent for tomorrow?’ That’s a question we must eliminate from student lives,” said Baker.
The open letter not only criticizes the ongoing cuts but also makes a clear recommendation: reinstate operating grant funding for public and nonprofit post-secondary institutions to 2019 levels, adjusted for inflation and enrollment growth.
When asked how the province should prioritize post-secondary education in the upcoming budget, Rezaei-Afsah emphasized the need for strategic investment.
“If we have threats like tariffs or economic challenges, the way to invest in our future is to invest in research, innovation and in us — the students. The province needs to reinvest into post-secondary education, or else it’s going to experience hardships and reduced productivity,” he said.
Abu Hayyaneh reiterated the urgency of renewing funding.
“If funding stays flat, then in inflationary terms, it’s effectively a cut. We need the government to match funding with today’s economic realities so that universities can maintain essential services and support our growing student population,” she said.
Baker stressed the mounting pressures faced by Alberta’s post-secondary programs and the long-term risks of underfunding. He warned that without stable government support, the very foundation of Alberta’s post-secondary system — and the future of its workforce — would be at serious risk.
“Our message to the government is that we’re working together for one purpose: the students. Investment in post-secondary institutions isn’t an expense — it’s a long-term investment in our future. If the government doesn’t step in to provide proper operating funds, we risk losing qualified instructors, vital student services like career and mental health advising, and ultimately, the very quality of education that Alberta is known for,” said Bakar.
With Alberta’s budget set to be announced soon, student leaders across the province are hoping their message is heard loud and clear: education is an investment in Alberta’s future, and it’s time for the government to stop cutting classes.
“Our open letter is a call to action,” Rezaei-Afsah said. “We are Alberta’s future. If this province cares about that future, then invest in Alberta. Stop cutting classes — because every cut today compromises our tomorrow.”
Read more about the joint-letter campaign here.