Ontario sent inspection notices to two Academy of Learning locations in 2024, but in-person visits did not begin until 2025, The Canadian Press reported, citing court records; both locations later failed inspections.
The notices were dated Oct. 1, 2024, and covered the school's Bay Street location in Toronto and its Brampton East site. The Canadian Press reported that the locations received notices renewing their eligibility to accept tuition funded through the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) four days before a ministry email sought to arrange the Brampton East visit. In that email, a ministry official wrote, “I apologize for the delay, which was due to transitions in roles and the implementation of new inspection procedures,” the outlet reported.
Ontario's Oct. 6, 2026, statement said complaints about rising OSAP applications increased in late 2024. Career Colleges Ontario raised similar concerns on Jan. 15, 2025, the province said, and the federal government supplied information in May 2025. Ontario said it launched targeted inspections in July 2025.
Career Colleges Ontario's letter identified irregularities at 10 schools, The Canadian Press reported. The outlet said the letter recorded a 642% rise in applications for Bay Street and a 527% increase at Brampton East from 2022 to 2024, while applications were flat at most career colleges.
Inspection reports cited in separate Canadian Press coverage gave the Bay Street location a failing result in September 2025 and Brampton East in March 2026. Inspectors raised concerns that third parties may have completed coursework and that some students interviewed could not identify their school or program. The schools denied most of the allegations and said students’ difficulty answering interview questions could reflect situational and linguistic factors, The Canadian Press reported. The Canadian Press reported that no misuse of OSAP has been proven in court.
Ontario engaged KPMG in August 2026 to audit OSAP applications at private postsecondary institutions. On Oct. 6, the province said it had paused payments associated with those institutions while the audit proceeds. It said it is exploring low-interest loans from third parties for affected students and plans legislation to exclude predominantly online programs at private career colleges from OSAP eligibility. The province set no date for further details on stricter eligibility criteria or for completion of the audit.
