PSE 2006

Canadian Post-secondary Education
A Positive Record – An Uncertain Future

Support for the report 

Reaction from stakeholders

Report resources

  • News release
  • Key findings
  • Chapter highlights
  • Backgrounder

  • Full report (PDF, 3 MB)
  • Report summary (PDF, 726 KB)

  • Support for the report
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    David Johnston, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Waterloo
    Post-secondary education and training are critical to the success of individual Canadians and of our country as a whole.

    I applaud the Canadian Council on Learning for producing the first report that provides a national perspective on post-secondary education.  Issues such as access to post-secondary education and training, quality, research and development, and student mobility all have country-wide implications.

    I believe that this report will stimulate a much-needed dialogue on post-secondary education and training in Canada among educators, institutions, governments, businesses and the public at large. Everyone benefits from a strong foundation for learning.

    Gerry Brown, President, Association of Canadian Community Colleges
    Canada's colleges and institutes play a significant role in contributing to Canada's competitive position in the global economy. It is important that we identify and address those issues that are critical to our ability to contribute to the economic and social development in Canada. Congratulations to the Canadian Council on Learning for their initiative in providing a national perspective on post-secondary education and skills.
    Nancy Hughes Anthony, President and CEO, The Canadian Chamber of Commerce
    The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is delighted to see the Canadian Council on Learning’s recommendations for a set of national priorities for post-secondary education and training in Canada, and a set of benchmarks to measure progress. Highly educated and well-trained workers are the foundation of Canada’s economic success, and currently, Canada is falling short of meeting the needs of the labour market. A national solution, involving government, business, labour, educators and learners themselves, is required to enhance our productivity and sustain our competitiveness.
    The Honourable Perrin Beatty, President and CEO, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters
    Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) is pleased that the Canadian Council on Learning has produced a report that takes a national perspective on post-secondary education and training. More manufacturers (83%) have employee-training programs than any other sector of the economy and CME recognizes that training and further education are vital to Canadian businesses, employees, and the Canadian economy. It is time to make post-secondary education and training a national priority, and to assess the sector’s ability to respond to Canada’s needs for a skilled and knowledgeable workforce.
    Phillippe Ouellette, National Director, Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
    The Canadian Council on Learning’s new report, Canadian Post-Secondary Education: A Positive Record – An Uncertain Future, reinforces the importance for post-secondary education to be treated as a national priority, as the inadequacies of the system have reached a national concern. The Council’s report begs an important question: what will be the long-term impact of a post-secondary system that continues to be characterized by patchwork solutions and jurisdictional self-interest. The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations believes that only when federal and provincial governments, institutional leaders, and post-secondary students come together to build a national strategy on post-secondary, will Canada be able to guarantee an accessible, affordable, innovative and high quality education.
    Anne Golden, President and CEO, Conference Board of Canada
    Boosting productivity and increasing Canada’s capacity for innovation are vital to our country’s competitiveness and economic success in the years ahead. The key to achieving these goals is ensuring our post-secondary education sector produces the talented workforce and conducts the leading-edge research Canada needs to remain at the forefront in a highly-competitive global economy. National leaders have been lamenting for years that Canada is faltering in these areas, yet little is being done to address these challenges at a pan-Canadian level. The Canadian Council on Learning’s report on post-secondary education helps to fill this gap. It provides a solid base of information on the state of post-secondary education in Canada today, insights into what other countries are doing, and offers constructive recommendations for action to strengthen the PSE sector’s contributions to the social and economic well-being of our communities and country.
    Don Drummond, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, TD Bank Financial Group
    The Canadian Council on Learning has produced a forward-looking report that recognizes the contribution of post-secondary education to Canada’s competitiveness, but also to our social well-being. If Canada wants to compete on the international stage, the messages in this document should be heeded—Canada needs to make post-secondary education and training a national priority, and Canadian companies and individuals also need to make a commitment to ongoing learning
    Robert A. Gordon, President, Humber College
    I am delighted to note that the Report of the Canadian Council on Learning has captured the essence of the current post-secondary environment. While we have an excellent post-secondary system, it suffers from a lack of cohesion, and by its fragmentation cannot optimally meet present socio-economic needs. Further, although the university community has been well served by federal programming related to scholarships, research monies and Chairs, the colleges have generally not been included. The skills gap in vital applied technological areas continues to grow to the point where Canada is encountering a serious problem which is hampering our competitive position. The Canadian Council on Learning report speaks directly to this and, thus, brings credible attention to an issue which must be addressed quickly.
    Thomas d'Aquino, Chief Executive and President, Canadian Council of Chief Executives
    The Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) applauds the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) for taking a national perspective on post-secondary education and training, and for focussing attention on areas in which we need to raise our sights in order to prepare our citizens for success in the global economy of the 21st century. We strongly support the report's conclusion that Canada needs to articulate well-defined national goals and to develop meaningful indicators to measure our country's progress in improving post-secondary education and training in the years ahead.
    James Turk, Executive Director, Canadian Association of University Teachers
    Although there has been much talk about the importance of post-secondary education for the social and economic future of Canada, no one until now has made a meaningful attempt to chart how we are doing in terms of accessibility and quality. The Canadian Association of University Teachers applauds the Canadian Council on Learning's attempt to look at the sector as a whole. Hopefully your report will stimulate discussion about how Canada can develop a true post-secondary education system that serves the needs of all Canadians while maintaining quality and improving accessibility.

    Dave Marshall, President, Mount Royal College
    I have recently read the Canadian Council on Learning’s report on the state of post-secondary education in Canada, and I would like to congratulate the CCL on such a comprehensive and important achievement.

    It is becoming increasingly evident in places like Calgary that appropriate investment in post-secondary education is necessary to ensure the success of not only our citizens, but our city, province and country.

    Our constitutional arrangements make it very difficult for Canadians to get a national perspective on areas such as post-secondary education. Issues such as access, training, quality, research and development, and student mobility, however, have national implications and must be nationally understood and addressed.

    The challenge is not that Canada’s existing post-secondary institutions are underperforming in some way or failing to address many of these national issues. It is, however, a fact that continued economic growth and social development in Canada will require a greater level of national understanding and cooperation. This report will stimulate the discussion between all sectors, provincially and nationally, that will lead to a better understanding and a national action agenda in post-secondary education.

    Dr. Robert G. McCulloch, President and CEO, Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology
    Post-secondary education and training are critical to the success of individual Canadians and of our country as a whole. I applaud the Canadian Council on Learning for producing a quality report that provides a national perspective on post-secondary education. Issues such as access to post-secondary education and training, quality, research and development, and student mobility all have country-wide implications.

    Canada’s post-secondary education institutions are performing well today, but there are serious issues that must be addressed in order to ensure their continued ability to contribute to economic growth and social development in Canada. I believe that this report will stimulate a much-needed dialogue on post-secondary education and training in Canada among educators, institutions, governments, businesses and the public at large. We also hope that the report might generate a much-needed discussion on educational issues related to our Aboriginal and immigrant populations. Everyone benefits from a strong foundation for learning.

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