UW’s 2026-2027 operating budget anticipates fewer cuts than expected, but is still affected by continued reorganization and layoffs as financial pressure continues.

Vice-president, academic and provost Thomas Duever and vice-president, administration and finance Jacinda Reitsma posted the budget in an announcement on April 17. The budget projects a structural operating deficit of $33.7 million, lower than the projected $51 million last November. That deficit is expected to decrease to $13 million at the end of the 2026-2027 year.

Key factors for the change include additional revenue from the unfreezing of domestic tuition starting next year and funding from the provincial government. UW will receive an estimated $50.8 million in operating grant funding.

“While the provincial funding announcement is very welcome, the need to focus on continued efficiency and expense reduction, and similarly the need to focus on new opportunities for revenue growth, have not disappeared,” Duever and Reitsma stated in the announcement.

Budget cuts to reduce expenses will continue next year, with a targeted goal of $20 million rather than the previously forecasted $45 million due to the additional funding and tuition revenue. That said, restructuring and layoffs are still ongoing. “Efforts to enhance revenues will be made through strategic enrollment management, a reconsideration [of] academic program delivery, and efforts to reduce duplication and improve efficiency via ongoing and upcoming functional reviews,” the document stated. Duever and Reitsma noted in their announcement that the transition to a new staff hiring control process began on April 6 and would be fully implemented by May 1, and university IT services are undergoing reorganization after functional reviews.

Some of UW’s ancillary services are also facing financial pressure to recover revenue as they post losses and cumulative deficits. Print and Retail Solutions (PRS), consisting of W Store and W Print, is “exploring opportunities to share resources” with Food Services, as PRS revenue is projected to decrease by 12.8 per cent over the next three years, and Food Services faces increased food and labour costs.

As for the impact on students, total student fees per term are expected to increase in the 2026-2027 academic year. The co-op fee charged to all students will increase from $817 to $836 per term starting in the spring term. Student service fees will go up by around $2 per student for undergraduate students and $6 for graduate students.

Undergraduate students will see more of their student service fees going to the student success office, wellness, and athletics and recreation. The athletics and recreational services fee will increase $1.61 (from $141.39 to $143), with a smaller $0.26 increase in the Student Success Office fee from $20.74 to $21, and a $0.04 increase in the wellness fee from $69.96 to $70.

Graduate students will pay an additional $2.58 for the Student Success Office, $2.03 for Athletics & Recreation, and $1.14 for the Writing Centre. An additional $1 fee to fund the ombuds office will be charged to both undergraduate and graduate students.

Two in-person Q&A sessions on the operating budget will be held on May 14 and May 15. Both are open to the public and will be livestreamed.

More information and a detailed breakdown can be found in the budget announcement here and the budget document here.