Federal budget update from President Lachemi

Ryerson University applauds the federal government’s 2019 budget, which mirrors our commitment to creating knowledge, advancing innovation, and promoting access to education for the next generation of talent who will build a more innovative Canadian economy.

Educational highlights of the budget include:

• $114 million over five years to create 500 more master’s level scholarship awards annually and 167 more three-year doctoral scholarship awards annually through the Canada Graduate Scholarship program.
• $80 million over four years, starting in 2020–21, to support three or more university-affiliated Canadian cybersecurity networks across Canada - Ryerson University’s Cybersecure Catalyst was acknowledged in the budget.
• Proposing to create up to 40,000 new work placements per year by 2023-24 to help young people enter the workforce and 44,000 work-integrated learning opportunities to help students gain professional experience.
• Reducing interest costs for Canada Student Loans, and extending the interest-free grace period, will benefit current and future students and improve access to post-secondary education.

The government also unveiled a number of proposed investments to improve access to post-secondary education for Indigenous students including:

• Expanding funding for the Post-Secondary Student Support Program
• Creating an Inuit-led and a Métis Nation-led post-secondary education strategy
• Providing Indspire with multi-year funding for additional bursaries and scholarships for First Nations, Inuit and Métis students

Ryerson University also appreciates the government’s ongoing support for the recently launched Future Skills Centre (external link)  (FSC-CCF), a national program to create and measure new approaches to skills development. With our partners, the Conference Board of Canada and Blueprint, along with other organizations across the country, Ryerson and FSC-CCF will play an important role in ensuring people have the skills for tomorrow's workforce or acquire the reskilling they need to transition to another career.

With a strong reputation for career-oriented and experiential learning, Ryerson equips our students with the skills and knowledge required to succeed today and tomorrow. We look forward to working with the federal government on work integrated learning, cybersecurity funding, and increasing access to post-secondary education.
 

Mohamed Lachemi
President and Vice-Chancellor