OSAP pause leads career college to suspend classes
Written by The Canadian Press on October 17, 2026
TORONTO — An Ontario career college has suspended its academic operations as a result of a province-wide pause on student financial assistance to all private post-secondary institutions.
Trillium College, with campuses in St. Catharines, Kingston, Oshawa, Sudbury and Cobourg, says in a notice to students that as of Friday it paused classroom and online instruction.
It comes after Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn announced earlier this month that Ontario Student Assistance Program payments to career colleges and other private post-secondary institutions are paused while an audit is underway.
Career Colleges Ontario has warned the government repeatedly about potentially suspicious OSAP usage at a few colleges, while Quinn’s office says evidence has emerged of “systemic issues.”
Quinn has not named any specific colleges that may be under suspicion, but Trillium College campuses were not among six where Quinn denied OSAP eligibility earlier this year.
Trillium says its temporary academic pause is necessary because “continuing normal classroom operations without a viable funding solution would place the orderly completion of student programs at greater risk.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2026.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press