FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

6 October 2026

QUEEN’S PARK — Ontario Liberal Interim Leader John Fraser called for Minister Nolan Quinn’s resignation today following new revelations about the Ford government’s handling of hundreds of millions of dollars in OSAP funding flowing to private career colleges.  

“Minister Quinn has lost the trust required to oversee our postsecondary education system and he should resign,” said Fraser. “The government was warned, they failed to act, and only now that they’ve been caught are they scrambling to respond. Only the resignation of this minister can begin to restore trust in the system, and every document produced by the audit needs to be released publicly.”  

Ontario Liberal MPP Tyler Watt, Critic for Colleges and Universities, responded: 

One day after we stood with students and exposed how hundreds of millions of dollars in OSAP funding flowed to a small number of private career colleges, the Ford government is scrambling to respond. Minister Quinn’s statement raises more questions than it answers.  

The numbers are staggering. In 2024-25, nearly $1 billion in Ontario grants went to students at private career colleges. Just seven schools received $385 million, as much as all 24 public colleges combined. And when OSAP grant spending increased by $465 million in a single year, 95 cents of every new dollar went to private career college students.

The government knew something was wrong. Court filings show the ministry was first warned in January 2023. Yet targeted inspections did not begin until July 2025, an outside auditor was not hired until this August, and the Auditor General was only notified last week.

They turned a blind eye while the problem grew, and only now after getting caught, are they taking action.

While the government knew there was a problem, it scapegoated students, blaming them for being financially irresponsible. In reality, it was the government’s own gross negligence and financial mismanagement that allowed this to happen.

The minister now says the matter has been referred to the OPP. When? Did the government request a criminal investigation? Is one underway?

It is very reasonable to question whether the government is referring this to the OPP simply so they can pretend they have a reason to not publicly answer questions – especially given we know the next phase of this scandal will involve questions of ethics and conflicts of interest.

Today, Doug Ford is once again taking a hatchet to a problem that requires a scalpel. His government is suspending OSAP payments to every private postsecondary institution, including those that followed the rules, and telling affected students to turn to private lenders.

Students did not mismanage OSAP. This government did.

Doug Ford’s government had years to act and failed. Ontario Liberals will keep holding their feet to the fire until students and taxpayers get the answers they deserve.