Nova Scotia·NewNova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender says the province’s universities are losing their appeal because of the high cost of living, which she posits could jeopardize the economies that have built up around those schools.Enrolment at N.S. universities is down, but dip is caused by cut to international study permitsTaryn Grant · CBC News · Posted: Oct 15, 2025 2:26 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes agoNDP Leader Claudia Chender, centre, holds a news conference at Province House on Oct. 15, 2025, with Ethan Leckie, left, president of the Dalhousie Student Union, and Ellie Anderson, right, president of the King’s Students’ Union. (Taryn Grant/CBC)Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender says the province’s universities are losing their appeal because of the high cost of living, which she posits could jeopardize the economies that have built up around those schools.“We know that our university sector is an enormous economic driver in our province,” she said at a news conference Wednesday.“And while we look for new economic opportunities, I am deeply concerned that we are ignoring the ones that already exist and are proven.”Chender said the province risks losing out on attracting “talented young workers who pay taxes, start small businesses and contribute to our communities in a variety of ways.”She pointed to data from Statistics Canada that shows the costs of housing and transportation in Halifax in 2024 was comparable to several larger Canadian cities, including Toronto and Vancouver.Dalhousie Student Union president Ethan Leckie said the high cost of living means there’s “less pull” for prospective students from outside Nova Scotia. Leckie said he came from Toronto to study in Nova Scotia.“It’s a smaller community, therefore you’re expecting cheaper prices, you’re expecting a cheaper cost of living,” he told reporters at the NDP news conference. “That was one of the incentives.”The Association of Atlantic Universities released its preliminary enrolment statistics for 2025 on Wednesday. They show a seven per cent year-over-year drop in full-time student enrolment across all Nova Scotia universities. But, according to the statistics, that drop is entirely accounted for by a reduction in international student enrolment, following Ottawa’s 35 per cent cut to international study permits last year.Chender said the solution for students can be found in the same suite of housing policies her party has been pushing for for several years: rent control tied to inflation, tighter restrictions on fixed-term leases and a residential tenancies enforcement unit.MORE TOP STORIES ABOUT THE AUTHORTaryn Grant covers daily news for CBC Nova Scotia, with a particular interest in housing and homelessness, education, and health care. You can email her with tips and feedback at taryn.grant@cbc.ca
Lack of affordable housing will drive students away from Nova Scotia, NDP says
