This message is sent on behalf of Dilson Rassier, provost and vice-president, academic and chief budget officer. It has been sent to all faculty and staff.

We are anticipating another tight budget cycle. New changes in government policies, particularly those affecting international student enrolment and visa regulations, continue to cause uncertainty. This will influence the budget for this year and future years. Much work has been done by many across SFU to minimize the impact of these challenges, but the ongoing change continues to have an impact.

A Budget Information Session was held recently. Thank you to those who attended. A full summary of the session, including key discussion points and next steps, is available on the 2025-26 Budget webpage. Your contributions to SFU’s budget development process—whether through feedback, questions, or managing budgets at the departmental level—are invaluable. Thank you again for your continued interest and engagement. 

As you are no doubt seeing in the news, this is a challenging time for our sector. Universities and Colleges across Canada are navigating uncertainty and making difficult decisions. At SFU we have been preparing for these challenges for some time and have made decisions that put us in a stronger position than many other institutions. This will continue to be our approach, as we make decisions to ensure the future sustainability and growth of our university.

We are also actively working with the provincial and federal governments to raise awareness of the impact of policy change on our university and our sector, and how that translates to the economy. 

President Joy Johnson has been meeting individually with cabinet ministers, MPs and MLAs, is collaborating actively with Universities Canada and RUCBC and is working with a coalition of BC partners to raise awareness of impacts of these policy changes for our province. President Johnson sent a letter to Minister Miller, federal minister of immigration, last week. You will also see more public advocacy from SFU on this issue, including my testimony as a witness to the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration later today. 

We have great people at SFU. The task for all of us is to use this moment to make decisions that will ensure a future-ready, responsive university that can make a difference, now and into the future. This means that we must continue to carefully manage resources, identify efficiencies, and align our financial decisions with SFU’s vision, purpose and strategic priorities. 

The 2025-26 budget plan will be finalized and submitted to the Board of Governors in March 2025. Budget reference points are expected to be shared with VPs this afternoon. Deans and faculties can expect to receive their budget reference points on December 4. As we look ahead, a one-time gain from the final part of divestment from fossil fuels will help ensure that we balance. However, we anticipate an operating budget pressure of $20M for next year resulting in a budget cut for most units in 2025-26. Roughly 80% of this year’s deficit is directly linked to the drop in international enrolment. The decision about how to manage those budget reductions will be made by individual units. Unit budget plans for 2025-26 need to be finalized and submitted to the Budget Office by mid-January. SFU is required to have a balanced budget and this reduction will ensure we balance our budget at the consolidated level.

We must make difficult choices and collaborate to solve complex problems. As a learning organization – and an organization that has re-invented itself many times – this is something we know how to do. Our strategic plan, and the work underway on the new academic plan, gives us the platform to sharpen our focus. We will continue to invest in what matters most– students, inclusive excellence, innovation, and the tools and resources we all need to do our jobs well. I am grateful to all of you for your work and commitment to move SFU forward.

Sincerely,

Dilson Rassier

Provost and Vice-President, Academic

Chief Budget Officer

Simon Fraser University