Staff at the Nova Scotia Community College are bracing for cuts after the province axed $9.4 million from its operating grant.

An email sent to college staff on Tuesday by acting president Anna Burke said the cut comes with an expectation that the college will reduce its workforce by three per cent.

“These changes will not be easy,” the email reads. “We are committed to approaching them with thoughtfulness and care both for our employees and for our students, as we continue to place their success and our mission at the centre of this work.”

The message said the college already anticipated a deficit in its 2026-27 budget, based on declining international enrolment and increasing equipment and software licensing costs.

“We now have significant and difficult work in the six to eight weeks ahead to adjust our planned spending according to the funding now available to us in the coming fiscal year.”

The reduction comes as the college has grappled with falling enrolment and changed its program offerings in response to that drop.

Neil Cody is the president of the Atlantic Academic Union, which represents faculty at the college.

He says a three per cent workforce reduction could mean about 60 positions will be lost, whether through layoffs, attrition or restructuring.

Although the details — such as whether the staff cuts would be across all departments, certain programs, or include both union and management — have yet to be determined, Cody said staff are concerned.

“Any time that you’re reducing the capacity while your demand remains high, it’s going to create some serious workload pressures and that’s going to have some big impact on the quality of the programming,” he said.

Cody said the college is still dealing with the impact of program and staff cuts over the past year.

Government to appoint NSCC president

Meanwhile, a new bill tabled this week in the legislature changes how the president of the college will be selected. Instead of being chosen by the college’s board of governors, the president will now be appointed by cabinet.

At a bill briefing Tuesday outlining the changes, Labour, Skills and Immigration Minister Nolan Young said they will “strengthen some of the accountability” and bring the college in line with other institutions and jurisdictions.

“It’s no different than happens in other Crown corps, right?” Young said. “It’s just really about modernizing.”

Young said the board will still control the selection process, but the final appointment will go through cabinet.

The NSCC is currently undergoing a presidential selection process after the retirement of former president and CEO Don Bureaux, who held that position for 15 years.

If the new bill passes during this sitting of the legislature, the selection of the new president would fall to the government for final approval.

The bill will also automatically add the deputy minister of the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration to the NSCC’s board.

Deputy minister Ryan Grant said that will improve collaboration between government, the college and industry to ensure decisions meet workforce needs.

The NSCC has a different structure than the province’s universities. Universities in Nova Scotia are more autonomous, and have self-governing boards, academic senates and board-appointed presidents.

The college, on the other hand, operates as a government-related entity and falls under the Community Colleges Act, which gives the government authority to control the college’s finances and operations.

The president of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, Robin Whitaker, said having a government-appointed college president raises concerns.

“We are definitely very concerned about increased interference in colleges or universities,” she said.

“The president is the public voice of the institution. They play a very important, representative role,” Whitaker said. “And it’s hard to imagine how a president could easily push back against government directions that are not in the best interests of the college, if they’ve been appointed directly by government.”

Whitaker said having an “imposed leader” could also erode trust in the leadership of the institution.

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