Ontario Premier Doug Ford says an audit firm that is investigating student financial aid usage at career colleges is making it a priority to clear lower-risk schools first so their funding can be unfrozen, but he was not clear on a timeline.
Ford's government paused Ontario Student Assistance Program payments to all career colleges and private post-secondary institutions while KPMG is conducting an audit looking at serious concerns with the integrity of the system.
Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn has said that pause will last until the government puts a new and strengthened approval process in place for career colleges looking for OSAP eligibility, and he expects that to be done in the new year.
In the meantime, career college students say they don't know how they will pay their rent and living expenses, let alone tuition, without their OSAP funding that had been previously approved.
Career colleges and other private post-secondary institutions have been calling on the government to take more targeted action against schools they refer to as "bad actors," while not making innocent students pay the price.
Ford says his government has asked KPMG to prioritize low-risk colleges to get money flowing again as soon as possible, but he did not give a specific idea of timing.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2026.
