When Georgian College announced Friday that it would be shuttering the Orillia and Muskoka campuses in the summer of 2026, it became more than just a professional matter for Angela Foster.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 349 president organized and picketed alongside hundreds of fellow union members Thursday at the Orillia campus in support of uncontracted support workers and to bring attention to the upcoming campus closures.
Over 500 people were expected to picket alongside the campus entrance on Memorial Avenue, with many coming from Georgian campuses in Barrie, Owen Sound, and Midland.
Other striking union members were bused in from other communities in the region, including Durham College in Oshawa and Fleming College in Lindsay. It is one of five OPSEU demonstrations happening Thursday.
"We need people to understand how important post-secondary education is to our community, Foster said to Barrie360. "When this campus closes, we are taking about 1,600 jobs out of this community and millions of dollars of economic impact."
Thursday marks the beginning of a fourth week of striking, which the OPSEU began September 11.
Foster is affected by the closure in more ways than one. Her son, Wyatt, is currently enrolled in the construction techniques program at the Muskoka campus. While his program will end before the campus closure, it's still a quagmire.
"It's personal and it's professional," she says. "He's absolutely loving his experience at Georgian, minus the services that he would really like to be able to access. But yeah, he's pretty upset."
Angela has worked at Georgian College as support staff for 24 years, and was elected local union chapter president in 2024.
While Wyatt attended class Thursday in Bracebridge and was unable to join his mom on the line, the support has been consistent from students.
With the demonstrations happening so close to the campus residences, many students couldn't help but look on. Some students picketed alongside their instructors.
"It feels like I actually have a purpose, and like I have a home and a family that will come together," said second-year early childhood education student Grace Wootton. "Hopefully students will come and join, because it's not just the staff, it's students that get impacted as well."
"It means a lot to stick up for our school and protect what we want," said classmate Hayleigh Craig.
Many picketers sported creative signage, including some that wrote 'straight outta funding,' 'resist the empire,' and 'honk for education.' Some drivers did honk as they passed by.
The rally officially started at 7 a.m., with it set to run to about 4 p.m., according to Foster. With vehicles being blocked by union members from entering the campus, eastbound traffic was backed up from the campus onto Highway 11 (nearly 1.5 kilometres) within the first 90 minutes.
"We're clearly causing a disruption and we're showing these people that this is a community, the college matters, the people matter at it," said Ian McBain, a Fish and Wildlife Technologist at Fleming College who joined the demonstration.
Additionally, the plan for the campus' programs to be consolidated into Barrie is drawing ire from students and faculty alike.
"Their reaction to the campus closures is devastation," Foster adds. "They chose Orillia because it's a small campus. It feels like a family when you walk inside those doors. The smaller classes, the smaller building... they don't want to move to Barrie."
"We all know that there's a housing crisis in both Barrie and Orillia right now," said another picketing instructor. "We know that there are food banks that are pushed to their limits. We know that there's other other social factors around housing, food security, all of these things, that will now be magnified in Barrie."
Friday, Georgian College announced its Orillia and Muskoka campuses will be closing and sold as a cost-saving measure for the institution. It said in a news release that the decision will save the college approximately $23.5 million over the next five years.
"It’s the right decision for the long-term sustainability of the college and the success of our students," Georgian College president Kevin Weaver said in a statement.
"Here we have specialized labs for all of our students," Foster says "We have a vet clinic for our veterinary technician and veterinary assistant students and there isn't that in the Barrie campus. Georgian is going to have to spend a lot more money to recreate all of those specialty areas and labs on the Barrie campus, so I'm not sure how they're really going to be saving that much money."
Foster also questions why the college would give large raises to its executives, knowing it is set for a deficit of at least $13 million next year.
"The fact that they are closing three campuses and our senior leaders here at the College took huge pay raises in the last year while they're saying that 'we don't have any money and we have to close campuses' is really disappointing."
Weaver's 2023 salary, for example, increased 11.2 per cent (nearly $34,000) in 2024 to just over $334,000. Of his colleagues, 21 earned raises of a higher percentage over the same period, with two of those receiving increases of approximately $74,000 and $60,000 respectively.
With the College Employer Council having stepped away from the bargaining table, according to Foster, there's a lot left to be desired moving forward.
"I'd like to see some sort of negotiations happen in good faith for those folks," she says. "I'd like to see students continue to raise their voice and say, 'here's exactly why this is problematic for me,' I'd love to see more community members, which we're seeing today out here, raise that flag and say, 'how is this going to impact local businesses?'"
