Students continue to criticize handling of MITT’s closure

Students at a Manitoba trade college say their education has been hampered as a result of its impending closure and they blame government for a poor transition.

The provincial government announced in January it would close the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology because it was no longer financially viable following the federal government’s decision to cut the number of international students allowed to study in Canada.

Officials have said students would remain the top priority as 19 programs from MITT are set to be absorbed by Red River College Polytech.

Kieran Smith, an electrical applications student at MITT, said it feels like those in charge “don’t really care.”

He’s one of the 500 students affected by the transition.

He said on July 2, a longtime instructor announced she would be leaving the school for RRC Polytech and that class was their last together. This upset students, Smith said.

At the time of the announcement, MITT’s enrolment was 3,750, down from 4,663 in 2024-25. The number of international students dropped by 55 per cent, the province said.

Forty-six staffers have been laid off and more than 70 employees have resigned.

Smith said when Dustin Blackwell, program manager of skilled trades and applied technology at MITT, held a meeting earlier this month to address concerns, it got heated.

“We were promised one thing, and for the most part … up until July, it looked like we were going to get it,” Smith said of a solid education at the school. “Now, it’s like ‘MITT is closing, let’s just get this done and over with.’”

“Obviously, I get with the whole merge happening, not everything is going to be A-OK, but I was hoping there was going to be more student involvement, more student care.”

Smith said he reached out to Advanced Education Minister Renée Cable about his concerns, but received no response.

Fellow electrical applications student Carl Cucio-Viagedor said no further information has been provided by the school since the meeting but it was able to rehire a former education assistant to replace the departed instructor.

Cucio-Viagedor said the education assistant has been doing a fine job but noted students paid for certain courses and instructors.

“I came in with high expectations,” he said, adding family members who attended MITT in the past only had positive things to say about the school. “Obviously, I get with the whole merge happening, not everything is going to be A-OK, but I was hoping there was going to be more student involvement, more student care.”

The Manitoba government has criticized Ottawa’s decision to allow fewer international students, saying it didn’t consult with the province.

Cable wouldn’t say if the province consulted with students and staff prior to the decision being made to close MITT.

“In any transition like this, it is complicated,” she said.

The provincial government said it was too early to determine what the savings would be from the school’s closure. MITT’s audited financial statements for 2025 indicate it had operating expenses of more than $51.7 million and was grappling with a $2.5-million deficit. It received more than $15.4 million in funding from the province.

RRC Polytech president Fred Meier said MITT students will graduate with MITT credentials and the facility will remain open until 2027 to accommodate them. He said he was given a heads-up about the transition in a phone call prior to the government’s announcement.

Cable said the decision to close the school was made with the “big picture” in mind — and it was a decision she didn’t want to make.

“There should have been more work done to try and make the school viable.”

“I know that MITT and Red River have really focused on staff support and student support, but at the end of this, we need to do what will be best, not only for this generation, but for the generations to come,” she said. “Did I want to be the person in this position that is the face of this? Absolutely not, but I need to do what is best for the entire system.”

More than 640 students who were in the process of applying to MITT have had their application papers transferred to RRC Polytech, the college said.

RRC Polytech said it was too early to assign a dollar figure to the transition process.

A statement from MITT said it remains committed to listening to students.

Alyson Pile, executive director of external relations at MITT, said concerns that spurred the shouting match between students and staff have been addressed.

“Since that time, further conversations with academic leadership have taken place with these students to ensure their concerns are heard, questions answered, and to reassure them that they will be able to complete their programs with the quality instruction, continuity, and support they need and expect,” Pile said in the statement.

Tory advanced education critic Carrie Hiebert called the province’s handling of the school’s closure a “huge failure,” and said students and staff should have had a say in its future.

“There should have been more work done to try and make the school viable,” she said.

morgan.modjeski@freepress.mb.ca