Ontario Government Funding Over 1,500 More Seats With $38 Million at Trent University to Prepare Students for In-Demand Careers
/The Ontario government has invested $38 million to fund 1,504 additional seats at Trent University to connect more students to good-paying, in-demand careers, announced on campus on Monday morning.
Dr. Cathy Bruce, Trent president and vice-chancellor (right) and Nolan Quinn, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry MPP (left) making one of two funding announcements at Trent University on Monday. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
According to Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, this allocation, which is part of a broader $1.7 billion investment to support a total of 70,000 new seats, supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario and build a more competitive economy by continuing to develop a world-class workforce. He added that the high-demand areas receiving additional seats at Trent University include programs in STEM, health and trades, with seats available for student enrollment as early as the fall 2026 academic year.
“Our province’s greatest strength is our highly skilled workforce – and those workers are trained at our world-class colleges and universities,” said Quinn. “This investment is supporting the largest seat expansion in Ontario in more than a decade and will ensure more students have the opportunity to train for good-paying careers that protect and strengthen our communities, industries and province.”
This investment is part of the government’s $6.4 billion investment in the postsecondary sector, including $1.7 billion to fund more than 70,000 additional postsecondary seats in high-demand sectors at publicly assisted colleges and universities. This seat expansion is the largest postsecondary seat expansion in more than a decade and aims to help the province stand up to tariffs and economic uncertainty by building a highly skilled workforce to support the most competitive economy in the G7.
The government announced the allocation of the first 30,000 seats in May when it launched a call for proposals for the remaining 40,000 new seats. Colleges and universities worked with their local communities and industries to identify programs that will prepare students for in-demand jobs and meet regional labour market needs. Ontario evaluated proposals based on institutional capacity, local industry needs and student demand to ensure the greatest impact on workforce development and economic growth.
The 1,504 newly funded seats at Trent University include:
1,081 seats for STEM programs
163 seats for education programs
126 seats for health programs
134 seats in other labour-market driven programs
