The shelves across Algonquin College are lined with glossy view books — thick, aspirational catalogues that promise endless educational possibilities.
“The future you want starts here,” reads the wording on the front cover.
For decades, Algonquin has provided a seemingly endless supply of selection for students of all backgrounds and interests. But now, 30 of those programs listed are at risk of elimination. The list includes Design Foundations, Paralegal, Law Clerk, Bartending, Hotel and Restaurant Management, among others.
The cuts were expected to go before Algonquin’s board of governors on Feb. 23. Then, abruptly, the vote was delayed after the provincial government announced tuition hikes and changes to OSAP. In staff offices and classrooms, educators exhaled. Maybe the pause meant reconsideration. Maybe there was still time.
That hope lasted a week.
On Thursday, Algonquin announced the vote would proceed Monday — only a week later than originally planned.
Nearly two decades ago, Collin Mills stood before that same board with a different kind of pitch. He was proposing something new: a Music Industry Arts program designed to prepare students not just to perform, but to engineer, produce and navigate the business behind the sound. It wasn’t an easy sell; creative programs rarely are. But the case was built on research, industry demand and the promise of an evolving sector.
Sixteen years later, the program is one of the college’s quiet success stories.
It boasts an 82.6 per cent graduation rate and a 92.3 per cent employment rate — numbers that outpace many post-secondary benchmarks. Since 2020, targeted enrolment has overperformed at 109 per cent. There are already 96 applications submitted for the fall 2026 intake.
On paper, it works.
And yet, Mills now finds himself back before the board — not to build something new, but to argue for its survival.
Despite its name, the Music Industry Arts program does not train performers. Instead, it focuses on the infrastructure behind the music — the technical and business machinery that keeps the industry moving.
“We teach a lot about the audio and sound side of things,” Mills told the Ottawa Lookout. “We have a recording studio, teaching students how to produce music, edit music, and work in the live sound industry. We have alumni at most festivals and venues around the city doing sound there.”
Collin Mills founded the Music Industry Arts program 16 years ago. Photo by Charlie Senack.
Students also study copyright, intellectual property, contracts and promotion — skills designed to protect and sustain creative careers.
In January, Mills attended a budget meeting where the numbers on the program’s performance were presented. He thought it was a good sign. But a week later, news of its potential cut was announced.
“Our net enrolment numbers were always higher than our projected,” he said. “So we’re showing a healthy program, good retention, good labour need, which were the three points in the college’s reasoning for cancelling some of these programs. So to us, it didn’t make a lot of sense.”
Industry groups appear to agree. The Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, Ottawa Festival Network and the Canadian Live Music Association have submitted a joint open letter to the board of governors outlining concerns about eliminating what they describe as a talent pipeline.
The letter states that the live music sector generates $10.92 billion GPD, supports over 101,000 jobs, and drives $3.7 billion in tax revenue nationwide.
“OMIC’s members are prepared to work collaboratively with the college to advocate at the provincial and federal levels for sustainable funding frameworks that support applied arts and industry-aligned programs,” the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition said in the letter.
“However, that collaboration depends on the continued existence of programs like Music Industry Arts. Without them, the industry loses a critical evidence base and a constructive partner for our joint advocacy.”
Mills agrees. He said removing the trained sound people, artists, creatives, and producers from that pipeline is going to have a negative effect on the industry.
That industry, he argues, is not shrinking — it’s expanding.
With Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa recently launching its new entertainment venue, and Live Nation soon to open its 2,000-seat History Ottawa venue in the ByWard Market, Mills said demand for skilled technicians and industry professionals in Ottawa alone is poised to grow.
“Things are growing. They’re not going the other way,” Mills said. “The pandemic’s over. There’s a surge for bringing a lot of that nightlife back.”
He believes a common misconception persists.
“There’s still a lot of people that think arts and culture and entertainment and music are hobbies and don’t understand that they’re real careers here,” he said. “Hundreds and hundreds of people work regularly in sound and music and creative sectors. They’re full-time employees in Ottawa.”
For some students, the program provides an alternative pathway.
“They may not be the traditional book-smart person,” Mills said, “but they understand technology and have some creative spark and some passion. We’re giving them that option to follow that path — but we’re actually training them with marketable skills that they can use after graduation and get work right away.”
A living classroom at risk
Tucked on the side of Algonquin College’s main campus buildings is a community garden that has provided greenspace in the middle of the city since it first opened in the 1990s. There is a large fountain, countless trees, a greenhouse that’s home to tropical plants, and an outdoor vegetable garden.
It’s not just landscaping; it’s a classroom maintained by Algonquin’s horticulture program, which is also on the chopping block.
If the vote passes, it would effectively eliminate the last full horticulture program in eastern Ontario, said Tommy Wingreen, co-ordinator for Algonquin’s horticulture program.
“If this closes, where do you go? Toronto. London. Niagara,” he said.
The program trains students for careers in landscape construction, garden installation, landscape design and urban agriculture. About 15 years ago, the curriculum was updated to include food production in urban settings — reflecting a growing interest in local, city-based farming.
Tommy Wingreen is co-ordinator of Algonquin’s horticulture program. Photo by Charlie Senack.
Graduates, said Wingreen, move into private industry. They build hardscapes, manage crews, design residential and commercial landscapes, run garden centres and even launch small organic farms in the region.
He says employers regularly call looking for graduates — not only for entry-level labour, but for management and senior roles.
“I now get calls from companies, even in Toronto, looking for graduates from our program,” said Wingreen.
Beyond employment statistics, Wingreen argues the program delivers value to the broader college community in ways that don’t always show up on a spreadsheet.
The gardens double as shared green space in the heart of the campus. Photography students shoot there. The daycare brings children through. Architecture and design students sketch among the trees. Neighbours walk their dogs along the paths.
“We are building all of these relationships, and we have done that over the years to a larger degree,” he said. “And unfortunately, that is now disregarded and very easily taken away for some maybe short-sighted financial issues.”
He worries that once the infrastructure disappears — mature trees, apprenticeship accreditation, industry partnerships — it will be nearly impossible to rebuild.
The horticulture sector, he adds, is not shrinking. Urban food production is expanding. Local farms are emerging. Employers are struggling to find skilled labour.
“It has become much worse over the past 15 years,” Wingreen said of the skills gap. “People are looking for skilled people in the industry.”
Wingreen said his hope of saving the program died when it was announced Thursday that the vote would happen within days. He said if passed, Algonquin will neglect its mission to educate people to help support the local workforce.
The program coordinator said he believes there are ways to cut costs down in his program, and said work was being done in the fall to revitalize it once again.
“The college even took me through a process in the fall through a program review,” said Wingreen. “We were totally willing to change the program and do whatever we had to do to make it financially more sustainable, and then they cut it right before we got that chance.”
The vote will be done during a virtual meeting. Last year, when another 37 programs were cut, security guards guarded the doors and posters were taped over the windows as the fate was decided.
In a letter sent to students Thursday, Algonquin seemed to hint it still believed the cuts were necessary despite the recent provincial announcement.
“What remains clear is that financial mitigation efforts must continue to ensure the College’s long-term sustainability. This includes aligning programming with enrolment demand, labour market needs, provincial priorities, and financial reality," wrote Algonquin.
