King’s is heading into 2026 with a projected deficit of $1.875 million, according to a Dec. 5 email from William Lahey, president of the University of King’s College.
This deficit is casting a looming shadow on several upcoming projects at King’s: the addition of a scriptwriting MFA, the revitalization of the journalism program and, perhaps most notoriously, the newly designed Southeast Corner Project (SEC).
It doesn’t help that Dalhousie University is experiencing shrinking pains of its own, with a deficit of $20 million, university-wide cuts and tuition increases for its smaller number of international students.
As a result of the Nova Scotia provincial government’s University Board Governance Act implemented earlier this year, universities across Nova Scotia are now subject to a “program review.” It’s being implemented in order to align the post-secondary sector with the province’s priorities, according to Brendan Maguire, the province’s minister of advanced education.
But what does all this mean for the future of King’s?
The once and future King’s
The next several years are ambitious and costly ones for King’s. The MFA program continues to grow, with a new scriptwriting program slated to begin in June of 2027. The program would welcome around 20-25 students per cohort.
A fundraising goal of $200,000 for the expansion of the MFA program was announced in August 2025, under a report entitled Future King’s: Campaign Priority Projects. The eight-page report presents 18 new projects, seeking $15 million in funding overall.
The report includes plans to restore both Cochran Bay and the A&A foyer as well, including funding goals for both restorations of $1.4 million and $350,000 respectively. It cites Cochran as needing “loving attention” and hopes for the foyer to become “the grand entranceway to our Collegi Regalis and into higher learning as Architect Andrew Cobb intended it to be.” Neither of these remodels have projected timelines.
The 140,000-square-foot Southeast Corner Project (SEC), which King’s recently released the design for, also has no official timeline yet, but King’s has already spent a donation of $1 million on designs by architectural group Diamond and Schmitt. In a Nov. 18 statement, Lahey boasted of the project’s immense collaboration with both African Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaq groups and partners.
The proposed building will host an elaborate new journalism school space, a new gymnasium, the Indigenous Students Centre and up to 100 new residence spaces. It will also be home to “Canada’s first center for excellence in podcasting,” with the intent to impress both local and national scenes, and attract journalists from across Canada.
As of March 2025, there were 69 students across the four-year, one-year and masters journalism programs — about 6.8 per cent of the King’s student population.
Who’s got the bill?
A majority of these projects are awaiting further funding from donors, partners and alumni. In a Dec. 5 email, Lahey wrote that King’s is currently just $2.5 million away from its $15-million Future King’s fundraising goal. Lahey also stated that, effective immediately, his salary has been frozen, with senior faculty expecting a general freeze this July.
King’s will also be implementing a “zero-based budgeting” strategy, where all expenses must be justified, reviewed and approved with each new budget period.
Provincial priorities
Tim Houston’s Progressive Conservative government has been honing in on Nova Scotia’s universities over the past year. With the passing of the University Governance Act earlier this year, Maguire has greater power over post-secondary institutions across the province; from appointing new boards of governors to determining what programs must be offered in order to receive provincial funding.
This Act requires financially insecure universities to file a plan with Maguire that “identifies a strategic connection between the social and economic priorities of the government and the university’s funding decisions.”
Last spring, the Houston government reached agreements with the province’s universities, holding back a portion of their annual financial support until specific goals were met, which included an increase of on-campus student housing and undergoing a program performance review. What is included in this review process is unclear, as are the province’s “priorities.”
The Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission (MPHEC) hired Huron Consulting Group — an American firm known for slashing cuts and gutting layoffs — to assist with meeting Nova Scotia’s goals. Recommendations made by the firm to other universities, such as the University of Wisconsin, University of New Hampshire and the New School, have previously led to salary reductions, hiring freezes, major layoffs of employees in non-STEM programs and program terminations.
The contract with Huron will last six months, ending in April, costing MPHEC over $400,000.
Dal-King’s taskforce
Dalhousie University is under equal scrutiny from the Houston government, just a few blocks away. With recent faculty and program cuts happening alongside the end of big projects of their own, including the final leg of construction on the Marion McCain Building and the completion of the Oulton-Stanish Centre, things are getting tense for our neighbor.
Despite the complex financial situation and future plans, both universities say student success remains a top priority. In 2024, Lahey and Dalhousie President Kim Brooks commissioned a King’s-Dal-taskforce to look for places where the universities’ academic relationship could be improved.
Roberta Barker, theatre professor and chair of the taskforce, says reliable degree planning has been at the forefront of discussions.
“Advising … can be very confusing for students,” said Barker. “You’ve got two different sets of advisors: the King’s advisors, the Dal advisors, and with the department advisors, you can actually get three different forms of advice.”
Barker said the taskforce’s report, which will be made public in the coming months, makes recommendations for a wide breadth of programs. Barker said advocating for the importance of humanities and arts in society is one of the things King’s and Dal should work on together.
“This what [King’s] students can bring to a huge range of fields,” said Barker. “The students who have this grounding in an interdisciplinary humanities and arts background.”
“Let’s find ways to celebrate [the humanities], and not have it be sidelined by conversations that are more dominated by the immediate job market.”
