For immediate release
February 18, 2026
The Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC (FPSE) attended the budget lock-up in Victoria ahead of Finance Minister Brenda Bailey rising in the Legislature to deliver the budget. As was telegraphed by government, this was a challenging budget that largely focused on bracing for further economic chaos caused by Trump’s tariffs.
“We understand that this government is facing some difficult choices, but today’s budget is not a step forward for post-secondary education,” said Brent Calvert, FPSE President. “Our sector has been decimated in the past few years by the dramatic drop in international student enrolment. We are seeing program cuts and job losses across the province and, at the precise moment our sector is in crisis, the province has not committed to any solutions,” said Calvert.
Virtually every institution in the post-secondary sector will be running deficits, largely related to the drop in revenue from international students. Close to 500 full-time regular faculty have been laid off, and well over 50% of contract faculty have lost their jobs. In response to this crisis, the province has initiated a comprehensive review of the entire sector led by former Deputy Minister Don Avison, KC. The terms of reference for Avison’s review place very few restrictions on the recommendations the government is willing to consider, with one critical proviso: the government said it was unwilling to consider any new funding for the sector. That decision was confirmed in today’s budget.
“In this moment of crisis, we need more of a sense of urgency that we are seeing in other provinces,” argued Calvert. “Ontario, for example, is adding $6.4 billion to fund colleges and universities in order to position Ontario’s colleges and universities to meet the disruption caused by the Trump tariffs and the sudden drop in international student revenue. It is worth noting that Ontario’s net debt to GDP percentage is actually higher than BC’s,” said Calvert.
Budget 2026 contains only a nominal mention of the post-secondary education sector, with a reannouncement of $241 million for skilled trades from Fall 2025 and delays to several ongoing capital projects. The Finance Minister is projecting a deficit of $9.6 billion this fiscal year, increasing to $13.2 billion for the next fiscal year.
“We applaud the Minister for modest tax increases to address BC’s fiscal challenges,” said Calvert. “This will allow BC to protect vital services and partially address the revenue shortfalls BC faces. However, there is very little in this budget to assist our sector, as our members work on the front lines retraining workers and preparing British Columbians for participation in a rapidly changing economy,” concluded Calvert.
Avison is slated to deliver his report in March, and FPSE will continue to engage with that process and push for renewal of the sector at this critical moment. We will also continue our efforts to convince the government that this is not a time to withdraw funding for our sector but to invest in British Columbians as they navigate the uncertainty and disruption in the months and years ahead.
For media inquiries, please contact FPSE President Brent Calvert at (604) 873-8988 or info@fpse.ca.
FPSE is the provincial voice of 10,000 faculty and staff at our 18 member locals at BC’s universities, colleges, institutes, and private-sector institutions.