Vote like the future of Post-secondary Education is at stake

Because it is.

Tomorrow, British Columbians go to the polls. For faculty and staff working in post-secondary education, this election comes at a critical moment. Unfortunately, you wouldn’t know it from most of the political parties’ platforms.

Over the past two years, we’ve watched public post-secondary education in British Columbia endure a crisis unlike anything many of us have experienced in our careers. Across the province, more than 1,300 jobs have been lost, and over 180 programs have closed. At Camosun, we’ve experienced the uncertainty of layoffs, restructuring, program reviews, and ongoing budget reductions. We’ve watched talented faculty lose their livelihoods, students lose educational opportunities, and our institution become a smaller version of what it once was. These aren’t just numbers on a budget spreadsheet. They represent people, careers, programs, and opportunities that may never return.

And yet, even with a provincial election (where to vote) upon us, post-secondary education is almost entirely absent from the political conversation.

The Silence is Deafening

Yesterday, October 22, the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators (FPSE) released its analysis of the three major political parties’ election platforms. The findings are deeply disappointing.

The BC Conservatives offer a handful of commitments related to apprenticeships, dual-credit programs, and skills training, but little recognition of the financial crisis facing our public colleges and universities. Their broader commitments to spending reductions and hiring freezes raise questions about what further cuts could mean for institutions already struggling to maintain programs and services.

The BC NDP, despite governing throughout much of the period when our institutions became increasingly dependent on international student tuition, does not mention post-secondary education in its platform at all. After years of layoffs, program closures, and appeals from educators and students, that silence is difficult to comprehend.

The BC Green Party offers the most substantial post-secondary commitments, including increased non-repayable student grants, a tuition freeze, stronger protections for graduate student workers, and a review of the provincial funding model. These are welcome areas of attention, although questions remain about how the proposals would be funded and whether they would adequately address the immediate financial crisis.

None of the three parties has presented a sufficiently detailed plan to stabilize our public institutions, reverse the loss of educational opportunities, and rebuild a sustainable system of public post-secondary education. But don’t take my word for it (or FPSE’s). Nonpartisan websites like Ballot.ca have tools to compare party platforms and see how your current MLA has voted on all the issues that matter to you.

We need to demand better from everyone seeking to govern this province.

This Crisis Was Not Inevitable

I’ve gone on the record that the collapse in international student enrolment merely exposed what educators have warned about for decades: BC’s public post-secondary system has been chronically underfunded. For years, successive provincial governments allowed colleges and universities to become increasingly dependent on international tuition revenue to sustain their operations. When federal immigration policies changed, that unstable funding model unravelled. Faculty, staff, students, and the communities our institutions serve have disproportionately borne the losses.

The CCFA has repeatedly challenged decisions about layoffs, restructuring, and program reductions. We’ve asked for transparency, meaningful consultation, and evidence that alternatives have been properly considered. We’ve advocated for the role of faculty in academic decision-making and for protecting educational opportunities that cannot easily be restored once lost. But these are not challenges that individual institutions, unions, or even federations, can solve alone.

The responsibility for ensuring a sustainable public post-secondary system ultimately rests with the provincial government.

Education Is More Than Workforce Training

When politicians do talk about post-secondary education, the conversation often begins and ends with labour-market shortages. Of course British Columbia needs nurses, tradespeople, technologists, and other skilled workers. Our members educate many of them, and we know how important that work is. But public education has always served a much broader purpose.

It creates pathways for people to change careers, challenge themselves, develop new ideas, and participate more fully in their communities. It supports the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. It builds the critical thinking, creativity, and capacity for civic participation that a healthy democracy requires.

And it provides opportunities for people who might otherwise be excluded from higher education because of where they live, how much money they have, or the circumstances into which they were born. Every time a program closeses, a community loses more than a credential. It loses knowledge, expertise, relationships, and opportunities for its future.

We cannot build a more equitable, resilient, and prosperous British Columbia by treating public education as an expense to be minimized rather than a public good worth investing in.

BC’s greatest natural resource is YOU (and US!!!). Post-secondary education unlocks our potential.

That is the message we’ve been bringing to elected representatives, communities, and our fellow workers. It is a message that deserves a much more prominent place in this election.

Voting Is Only the Beginning

It would be easy to look at these platforms and conclude that none of the parties has earned our confidence on post-secondary education. But withdrawing from the political process won’t make our concerns more visible. It will only make it easier for politicians to continue ignoring them. We need to make public post-secondary education impossible to overlook.

That means voting, but it also means asking difficult questions of those who want to represent us.

Where is the plan to restore stable public funding for colleges and universities? What will candidates do to protect the programs and jobs already at risk? How will their parties ensure that education remains accessible and affordable in communities across BC? Will they protect academic freedom, collegial governance, and the collective bargaining rights of the people who deliver public education?

And perhaps most importantly, what do they believe public post-secondary education is actually for?

These answers matter, not just to faculty and students, but to everyone who wants a future in which education remains an opportunity rather than a privilege.

Tomorrow, Make Your Vote Count

As CCFA members, as members of a labour union, we deeply understand the importance of collective action. We know that the rights and working conditions we enjoy weren’t simply given to us. They were won because people organized, participated, and refused to accept that things couldn’t be better. Voting is another expression of that responsibility.

The CCFA isn’t asking members to vote for a particular political party. We’re asking you to consider what is at stake, examine the commitments being made, and cast your ballot with the future of public education in mind.

I’m also asking you to talk about it. Talk to your family, friends, neighbours, and students about what is happening to our institutions. There are thousands of undecided voters out there. Help them understand what is lost when public education is diminished, and why it matters to everyone.

Election Day is Saturday, October 24, 2026. Voting places are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can find your assigned voting location through Elections BC.

Regardless of who forms the next government, the CCFA and FPSE will continue pushing for sustainable funding, meaningful consultation, strong public institutions, and respect for the people who make education possible. But tomorrow is your opportunity to make our voices heard.

Public education is worth fighting for. Our students are worth fighting for. Our communities are worth fighting for.

Please vote. And on Monday, let’s get back to the work of holding whoever wins accountable.

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