The Canadian Federation of Students-Newfoundland and Labrador has launched a petition to keep the tuition freeze, stating that education is a public right and that the 2026 tuition freeze commitment lasts only one year, leaving students with no guarantee of what comes next.
The petition also states that freezing tuition without a planned reduction means that tuition has still increased by as much as 265 percent for many Newfoundland and Labrador students since 2022.
The petition states that tuition increases led to an over 20 percent drop in first-year undergraduate enrolment at Memorial, as well as multiple closures of the campus food bank due to high demand.
The petition also notes that nursing students at the Centre for Nursing Studies were not included in the tuition freeze commitment, despite attending a public post-secondary institution in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The petition calls on the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to extend the tuition freeze at Memorial University and the College of the North Atlantic beyond the 2026-27 academic year, freeze tuition at the Centre for Nursing Studies for students in the Practical Nursing program, and reduce tuition to 2021 levels at Memorial University, the College of the North Atlantic, and the Centre for Nursing Studies.
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