Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
What a pleasure it is to see everyone, members of Parliament and witnesses. I can't wait until we can be back together in the same place. Thank you for the invitation. Thanks for conducting this study and thanks for the extraordinary work being done by everyone, witnesses and committee members alike, in this challenging time.
I want to take a short moment of my time to pay tribute to all the people and communities who are grieving the terrible tragedy in Nova Scotia this week.
With me today is Wendy Therrien, who leads our policy and public affairs efforts. She'll be pleased to join in on any questions and answers that may follow.
We've appeared in front of this committee before, but I'll remind you that we represent all 95 universities across the country. Taken together, Canada's universities are a $35-billion enterprise and are significant drivers of economic prosperity. They provide employment for over 300,000 people. Universities are anchor institutions in their community, often as the largest employer, with extensive local supply chains. More than half of all university revenues are derived from sources other than the federal or provincial governments.
Canada's universities are also an integral part of the team Canada approach to fighting this pandemic: mitigating the risk, finding a cure and accelerating Canada's economy into recovery. You know, in the space of about 10 days, Canada's universities moved over 1.4 million learners into online education. It was something that couldn't be done in 10 years, it was said, and we achieved it in 10 days. Moreover, 70 universities have created emergency student funds to help provide additional support to those who may have been left stranded or disrupted by the events of the recent weeks. That's on top of the $2.2 billion in student support that universities provide from their own resources annually.
Thinking about the COVID response, of course universities are active in the race to the vaccine, the race to a treatment, through research investments that the federal government has made. Universities are donating PPE. They've been repurposing dormitories in order to house front-line health workers. That's the case at Western University and other campuses across the country. They're also converting research labs into testing facilities to increase the capacity for testing quickly as universities and all communities step up in this national effort.
Let me extend thanks to the members of the committee and to the government for completely re-creating the social safety net in the space of a few short weeks and for injecting record liquidity to keep the economy moving. As Adam noted a few moments ago, we're especially pleased to see the $9-billion investment in support measures announced for students earlier this week, including the new CESB, changes to student financial aid, and support for job opportunities, work learning opportunities and volunteer service. These measures are essential to helping young people through the pandemic, ensuring that they can continue their studies in the fall and are able to contribute over their lifetime to building a stronger Canada.
That said, there's still an urgent need to ensure that universities can welcome back these students and offer the high-quality education that students will need to succeed in a post-COVID economy. For students to succeed, universities must be strong. Members of this committee need to know that universities are under severe financial pressure. Significant layoffs and job losses are imminent, and they will imperil universities' ability to help restart the economy and accelerate Canada into recovery.
One of the biggest sources of revenue for Canada's universities and their communities is international student revenue. I've appeared in front of this committee before about this. International students contribute more to Canada's economy than the export of softwood, the export of wheat or the export of auto parts. They contribute $6 billion in tuition revenues to universities annually. For many institutions, international student revenues contribute over half of all tuition revenues. With closed borders and closed visa application centres, we can anticipate significantly lower international student enrolment for this fall. The loss of these revenues will directly impact all students and the ability of universities to meet the needs of Canadian students.
We're seeking some urgent assistance. We've been working with federal officials to develop a range of measures that will support students, stabilize university operations and contribute to economic recovery. For example, an immediate investment to make more robust online education capacity will do three things.
First, it will enable Canadians students to continue to learn in the event face-to-face instruction is not possible in September for health reasons. Second, it will also enable international students to continue to enrol and prepare to come to Canada when conditions allow. Third, it will strengthen our ability to support people who are currently unemployed and ensure they have access to post-secondary education in a way that enhances their skills and builds human capital.
Previously, we have spoken about the need for upskilling and reskilling and with more than a million Canadians unemployed, there's an opportunity right now to help them with that.
Urgent funding is needed to support the move to new tools and platforms; to provide training for learners, faculty and staff; and to address increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity risks.
A second urgent need is for federal assistance to mitigate the loss of international student revenue. A direct federal transfer or other mechanism will help universities bridge their operations until borders are open and visa processing returns to normal levels.
There is every chance that Canada will emerge stronger in the international education field post-pandemic, but the short-term loss of revenues could be catastrophic.
Finally, as we think about moving to recovery, this committee knows well that universities can implement infrastructure quickly across the country. There are over seven billion dollars' worth of shovel-ready projects that can help meet Canada's inclusive growth goals with green and accessible projects that strengthen the students' experiences and accelerate recovery.
Thanks again for the opportunity to be with you today.