Canadian Layoff Tracker

Okanagan College laid off 12 staff members and offered 34 early retirement packages, totaling 46 positions eliminated, due to a significant drop in international student enrollment following federal restrictions on study permits. The college also cut the Modern Languages in Arts program and suspended a Science in Nursing partnership program with UBC Okanagan.

The head of B.C.'s Agricultural Land Commission announced that job cuts are coming to the independent agency that decides how protected farmland is used in the province. The layoffs come amid a broader debate over the best approach to preserve the province's prime agricultural land.

University of the Fraser Valley laid off 45 faculty and staff positions due to a $20 million deficit caused by a significant decline in international student enrollment. The layoffs included 6 teaching faculty reductions, 4 non-teaching faculty reductions, and 35 staff reductions, along with 3 involuntary workload reductions.

Tree Island Steel, a Richmond, British Columbia-based wire and fabricated wire products manufacturer, implemented a 27% workforce reduction in response to a sharp revenue decline in 2025. The downturn was driven by lower U.S. volumes amid expanded U.S. tariffs, resulting in full-year sales falling to $161.8 million from $207.0 million and a net loss of $5.3 million.

North Island College is cutting teaching and administrative positions, affecting approximately 10 full-time equivalent jobs, due to an $8.4 million decline in international revenue by 2027 caused by federal immigration policy changes. The college is also suspending 15 programs and reviewing offerings with lower enrolment to address significant financial challenges.

Camosun College announced workforce adjustments due to a $7.2-9 million budget cut caused by a 60% drop in international student enrollment. The college has issued Section 54 notices to its three unions and is exploring alternatives to layoffs including early retirements, voluntary severance, and reduced term contracts, though exact numbers of affected employees have not been disclosed.

Mission Hill Vineyards laid off workers following a catastrophic winter freeze that caused significant reduction in operations. A British Columbia arbitrator dismissed a grievance seeking severance pay for one of the affected workers.

Thompson Rivers University has shed more than 10% of its workforce in the last 15 months due to a 26% drop in international enrolment caused by federal immigration policy changes. The university expects to slash an additional $25 million from next year's budget, with ongoing layoffs and potential elimination of five academic student services due to unfilled retirements and sabbaticals.

College of New Caledonia is permanently closing its Fort St. James campus on March 31, 2026, due to an $8 million revenue shortfall caused by caps on international student visas. The closure follows previous staff layoffs and relocations at the campus, which previously served approximately 200 students in programs like culinary arts and trades.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University is laying off unionized staff and cutting costs due to a sharp drop in international student enrolment, aiming to save $5 million—about 40–45 full-time positions—through staff reductions, frozen overtime, and unfilled vacancies.

Trinity Western University is laying off approximately 75 staff members due to federal restrictions on international student study permits, which have reduced enrolment and created financial pressures. The cuts are part of cost-saving measures implemented across the Canadian post-secondary landscape following a 7% reduction in maximum international student permits for 2026.

Meanwhile, at Vancouver Community College, the administration says that 70 regular faculty member will be losing their jobs.

Premier David Eby announced that 2,000 public service jobs have been eliminated as part of an expenditure management and efficiency review, with more cuts expected in the 2026 budget. The province is targeting administrative positions that do not support front-line service delivery while facing an $11.2 billion deficit.

Domtar will begin laying off 350 workers at its Crofton mill starting February 3, 2026. The union is requesting federal support from a $50-million softwood lumber worker assistance fund to provide early retirement options for affected employees.

Domtar announced the permanent closure of its pulp mill in Crofton, British Columbia, resulting in 350 workers being laid off effective February 2026. The company cited lack of access to economically viable wood fibre as the primary reason for the closure.

Drax, a U.K.-based renewable energy company, announced the closure of its wood pellet plant in Williams Lake, B.C., effective by the end of 2025, resulting in 30 job losses. The closure is attributed to the curtailment and closure of nearby sawmills and reduced fibre availability, making operations no longer commercially viable.

West Fraser Timber Co. announced the closure of its lumber mill in 100 Mile House, British Columbia by the end of 2025, resulting in 165 job losses. The company cited inability to reliably access economically viable timber supplies locally and from other regions, compounded by U.S. tariffs on softwood lumber and reduced fibre availability from insect outbreaks and wildfires.

West Fraser announced a mill closure in 100 Mile House, British Columbia, resulting in 165 job losses. The layoffs were announced on November 7, 2025.

Sinclar Group Forest Products announced a 40 per cent reduction in work hours affecting approximately 350 sawmill workers across three B.C. mills (Lakeland Mills in Prince George, Apollo Forest Products in Fort St. James, and Nechako Lumber Co. in Vanderhoof) effective October 27, 2025. The cutbacks were attributed to Trump tariffs and duties on Canadian softwood exports, combined with provincial policy challenges and fibre supply uncertainty.

Selkirk College is closing its Kootenay Studio Arts campus in Nelson at the end of the academic year, resulting in the loss of 10 full-time and part-time positions. The closure is attributed to financial pressures caused by federal cuts to international student study permits, which has reduced a major revenue source for the college.