Fort McMurray, Alberta

Fort McMurray College is preparing for a second year of job cuts as student enrolment continues to decline. The college has previously implemented layoffs and is facing ongoing challenges with declining enrollment numbers.

Keyano College in Fort McMurray is preparing for a second year of layoffs due to a projected 40 per cent drop in student enrolment, attributed to federal limits on international students. The college cut or merged 70 positions during the 2024-25 academic year and expects similar cuts in the 2026-27 academic year as enrolment is expected to drop from 2,500 to 1,500 full-time student equivalents.

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo announced plans to eliminate 459 positions in February 2024, but cancelled the layoffs a month later after public protests and outrage. An arbitrator later ruled that former CAO Henry Hunter handled the layoff plans with a 'shoot first, aim later' approach and that the process 'amounted to bullying.'