KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – The Association of Nova Scotia University Teachers (ANSUT) says the Nova Scotia government’s 2026–27 budget misses an opportunity to strengthen the long-term resiliency of Nova Scotia’s university system.
The Minister’s budget address emphasized “resiliency” as a central theme. While the budget delivers the two per cent operating grant increase outlined in the current funding agreements, ANSUT says the overall approach represents system maintenance — not resilience.
“A resilient system is one that can absorb disruption and adapt,” said ANSUT President Mathew Reichertz. “This budget does not build that capacity.”
Reichertz says that what concerns faculty the most is the increasing concentration of ministerial oversight under the guise of accountability. “Faculty understand their responsibility to students and taxpayers, and are already willing and able to be accountable,” said Reichertz, “but the introduction of Bill 12 last year, combined with bilateral funding agreements that focus on government priorities, are not helping the post-secondary education sector build resiliency. Far from making our universities more resilient, the funding agreements that this budget supports risk eroding the strong university system we have built in Nova Scotia. True resilience means stable, predictable funding and respect for institutional autonomy, not expanding ministerial control.”
Under the funding agreements supported by this budget, operating funding grows modestly, while targeted funding and special payments decline. ANSUT says this combination can reduce flexibility and weaken universities’ ability to respond to fluctuations such as enrolment shifts, infrastructure pressures, and global uncertainties. This short-term thinking in university funding can carry long-term economic consequences.
“Universities are engines of research, innovation, and workforce development,” said Reichertz. “Restricting funding to narrowly defined government priorities may appear fiscally prudent in the short term, but it will ultimately weaken our university systems and short-change Nova Scotians economically. A weakened university system means fewer opportunities for students, reduced research capacity, and slower economic growth across the province. Long-term prosperity depends on supporting the full ecosystem of scholarship and innovation — not narrowing it.”
ANSUT is calling on the government to work collaboratively with universities and faculty associations to develop a long-term funding framework that strengthens capacity, protects academic freedom, and ensures Nova Scotia’s post-secondary system remains a pillar of economic and social prosperity.
“Nova Scotia’s future depends on strong universities,” said Reichertz. “It’s not too late to invest accordingly.”
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