The Ford government has dismissed Conestoga College’s entire board of governors and installed a provincial administrator after an audit uncovered “egregious financial decisions” — including a 55% salary hike and an illegal severance payment to the college’s former president.
Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn announced on May 7 that Linda Franklin, former president and CEO of Colleges Ontario, would take over as administrator effective immediately — believed to be the first time in Ontario history a college board has been dismissed this way.
The board approved a salary increase to more than $636,000 — a 55% jump — for former president John Tibbits in 2024, on the same day the college announced hundreds of layoffs. When Tibbits abruptly retired in January, the board approved a termination payment of more than $3 million — 83 times his monthly salary.
The Broader Public Sector Executive Compensation Act caps such payments at 24 months, which at Tibbits’ salary works out to approximately $1.2 million. The Toronto Sun reported the board voted on the payout without being told its full details. Quinn said the government is exploring options to recover the funds.
Auditors also found a $23,000 trip to Italy by three senior leaders — business class airfare, luxury accommodations, premium transportation — and a $1,300 staff dinner where half the pre-tax bill was alcohol.
“Our government’s record-setting funding for colleges must be used to drive student success; anything less is completely unacceptable,” Quinn said.
The college aggressively recruited international students — primarily from India — throughout the early 2020s, growing enrolment by more than 1,500% since 2014. By 2023, Conestoga held 30,395 international study permits — more than twice that of any other post-secondary institution in Canada.
The model generated surpluses exceeding $100 million in 2022-23 and $250 million in 2023-24, but drew sustained criticism for prioritizing revenue over academics. Faculty reported widespread cheating and fraud dating to at least 2019.
Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said a $100 million surplus “isn’t the vocation of a college.” In late 2024, Canadian colleges working with Indian recruiting agencies were implicated in human trafficking investigations; Conestoga paid $20 million in commissions to international recruitment agencies in 2019-20 alone.
When the federal government capped international study permits in 2024 — cutting Conestoga’s allocation from more than 37,000 to 15,000 — the revenue model collapsed. The college laid off more than 500 employees, one of the largest single layoffs in Ontario’s college sector. Tibbits retired earlier this year.
Regular operations will continue with no disruption to students, staff, or programs. Quinn said Conestoga is “an outlier” with no other institutions currently under similar audits. Franklin will work alongside the college’s interim president to restore sound fiscal management.
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