Save Craft Education in Ontario: A Call to Action

There is a Craft Education Crisis in Ontario

Ontario’s leading craft education programs — at George Brown College, Sheridan College, and OCAD University — are facing suspension, restructuring, and potential elimination. These programs, which train the next generation of ceramicists, glass artists, furniture makers, jewellers, textile artists, and more, are on the brink.

Amid sweeping post-secondary funding cuts, these specialized programs are not being evaluated fairly, and the cost of inaction is enormous — for education, for culture, and for the economy.

The Broader Problem: A Broken Funding System

The crisis in craft education is a symptom of deeper systemic issues:

• Ontario ranks last in Canada in per-student post-secondary funding.

• The tuition freeze, coupled with decades of government underinvestment, has made programs like craft unsustainable without intervention.

• A recent federal cap on international students has further strained budgets — but this is only the tipping point.

What’s Happening to Craft Education?

• George Brown College: 3 out of 4 Jewellery & Gemmology programs are suspending intake as of Fall 2025.
    Read more, Save GBC Jewellery Campaign

• Sheridan College: Entire Craft and Design Program is under efficiency review and has suspended Fall 2025 intake. Programs affected: Ceramics, Furniture, Glass, Industrial Design, Multidisciplinary, and Textiles.
    More details

• OCAD University: Core Material Art & Design courses in Jewellery, Textiles and Ceramics are being drastically reduced. Administrative decisions about section cuts and increased course size is challenging student pathways for acquiring craft training and accreditation.

These aren’t large-scale, low-cost programs — they are hands-on, studio-based, and require specialized infrastructure. Evaluating them using the same financial criteria as lecture-based programs is short-sighted and unfair.

The Economic Powerhouse We’re Undermining

According to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), the overall arts and culture sector contributes $26 billion annually to Ontario’s GDP — that’s 3.3% of the province’s total output — and supports over 270,000 jobs.

“Arts and culture are economic drivers, job creators, and essential to innovation.” – OCC, 2024

Yet this vital sector is under threat due to chronic underinvestment. The OCC has called for bold action, recognizing that cultural industries — like craft — are foundational to Ontario’s economic resilience and global competitiveness.

Ontario: A Craft Sector Powerhouse

Craft is the third-largest subdomain within the broader Visual and Applied Arts sector in Canada. While arts and culture collectively drive billions in economic activity, craft alone is an economic engine — and Ontario isn’t just participating in the craft economy — it’s driving it.

• In 2023, Ontario’s craft sector contributed over $1.68 billion to the provincial GDP — that’s over 57% of the $2.94 billion the craft sector contributed to Canada’s GDP in 2022.
  

• Ontario supported an average of 15,900 craft jobs in 2023, making up more than half of the 28,000 craft jobs across Canada.

• Craft is also central to arts and culture tourism, which has three times the economic impact of typical tourism — bringing visitors, spending, and global attention to local makers and institutions.

Craft is not a niche — it’s a driver of jobs, exports, innovation, and tourism. Yet without dedicated investment and protection of education pipelines, its economic potential is at risk.

What Happens if We Don’t Act?

We risk losing:

• Irreplaceable infrastructure and knowledge: Kilns, looms, studios, and highly skilled faculty.
• Pipeline for skilled artisans: No new students means no new craftspeople entering the field.
• Cultural identity and regional legacy: Craft practices are directly tied to local knowledge, sustainability, and community heritage.

These aren’t generic programs — they are unique in Canada, and once they’re gone, they won’t come back.

What You Can Do

Raise your voice and demand action:

• Write to your MPP, the Ministry of Colleges & Universities and the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Click here for template letter:
  
       - Find your MPP representative
       - Ministry of Colleges & Universities
       - Ministry of Economic Development
  
  

• Write to Post-Secondary Leadership. Click here for template letter:

George Brown College

- President: Gervan Fearon, president@georgebrown.ca 
- Board of Governors: Bruce Choy, Chair, boardsecretariat@georgebrown.ca

Sheridan College

- President: Janet Morrison, President & Vice Chancellor, president@sheridancollege.ca
- Board of Governors: Nancy Goncalves, Interim Assistant Secretary of the Board, nancy.goncalves@sheridancollege.ca 

OCAD University

- President and Vice-Chancellor: Ana Serrano, aserrano@ocadu.ca
- Board of Governors: Tanya Bowes. Board Secretary and Chief of Staff, tbowes@ocadu.ca

• Use your voice online: Share stories, write op-eds, use #SaveCraftEdON
  Personalize and share your experience of craft education, and make use of the information provided here. Graphics can be downloaded here. 

This about the Future of Craft in Ontario

We’re calling on students, educators, artists, economists, and concerned citizens to stand up.

Craft education doesn’t just teach skills — it builds industries, communities, and culture.

We must act before these programs — and the future they promise — are lost.

For media inquiries, interviews, or to get involved:

Phone: 416-925-4222
Email: jhiemstra@craftontario.com
Socials: @craftontario