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Critics have accused the Ford government of not spending enough on Kindergarten to Grade 12 education to even keep up with inflation, though it spent more than allotted this year because of increased teacher pay as well as school board spending.

“We’ve increased the core funding by 3.3 per cent, the funding per pupil in this budget this year is going to be up 2.6 per cent — that’s even more than inflation,” Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy told reporters of his 2025-26 budget. “And we’re going to continue to invest, like hiring more teachers for our great schools.”

However, post-secondary spending will drop from $14.2 billion this year to almost $13 billion in 2025-26.

Bethlenfalvy noted a “previously announced $1.3 billion to support colleges and universities as a result of the lower student caps by the federal government” clamping down on international enrolment, and “we also just announced $750 million to increase (STEM spots) by 20,500” —  a reference to a focus on science, technology, engineering and math.

Colleges Ontario said it “demand for technology and trades programs continues to grow ... New investments in trades training, as announced in the provincial budget, will reduce these bottlenecks and help build a skilled workforce in essential sectors,” but that “more work remains” when it comes to post-secondary funding.

JP Hornick, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union, warned of more cuts to programming, staff and even shuttering campuses.

“Colleges were already in a hole to begin with — this just digs deeper,” Hornick said.

Amid the teacher shortage, the province is spending almost $56 million over two years to add 2,600 spots, saying “these efforts will provide a steady stream of qualified teachers to support students’ academic achievement and future career success.”

Karen Littlewood, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, said that’s not enough to even meet current needs.

“The problem is, we have crumbling buildings, we have overcrowded classes, we have unqualified people in front of students” because of the teacher shortage, she said.

“I just heard from a principal this week that they have 16 schools in their board without a custodian,” Littlewood added. “How can schools continue to run when you don’t have people working?”

René Jansen in de Wal, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, said “it’s great to start to recognize that inflation is an issue, but they didn’t make up for the 10 year gap” when funding fell far short of it budget after budget.

The province has also pledged $175 million more — for a total of $779 million — for the Ontario Autism Program, which provides children with needed behavioural, speech and occupational therapies, but has come under fire for long wait-lists.

For those who lose their jobs because of the ongoing American threats to the economy, the government announced $20 million for training and support centres as “immediate transition supports for laid off workers including those impacted by U.S. tariffs,” with programs co-ordinated by colleges, unions and local community groups.

Bethlenfalvy also announced a $1 billion investment for training programs and skills development to help ensure there are enough workers in key sectors, and a further $75 million over three years for 2,600 spots in construction-related post-secondary programs.