Algonquin College students in Perth stunned by campus closure

While Algonquin College students in Ottawa continue to navigate the new semester, those in Perth are still reeling from the news that their campus will be closing.
On Jan. 9, staff and students received an email from Algonquin College president and CEO Claude Brulé, announcing the college’s plans to close the Perth campus in 2026.
In the letter, Brulé attributed the closure to “unprecedented financial challenges for the entire post-secondary sector, including Algonquin College.”
When Perth’s Level 4 heritage carpentry and joinery student Isabelle Dudzinski read the email, she could not believe what she saw.
“It’s surreal,” Dudzinski said. To Perth students, “it came out of the blue.”
Isaac Hugh, one of Dudzinski’s classmates, immediately thought of their program.
Despite living in Gatineau — almost a 90-minute drive away from Perth — the tight-knit, small class sizes and the unique opportunities the program provides make it all worth it for Hugh.
There is not one ounce of doubt in either Hugh or Dudzinski: the campus and the program are everything they could have hoped for.
“(It) has deep connections with alumni and the nearby community,” Hugh said. “It’s special.”
Losing the campus is especially worrying for many in Perth — a town built on carpentry and home to many historical, well-preserved buildings.
Students in the heritage program often have opportunities to collaborate on initiatives from Ontario Parks, the National Capital Commission and other heritage and conservation-focused groups.
Currently, students in Dudzinski and Hugh’s class are creating new shutters for the Bigot House, part of a larger rebuilding project by Parks Canada in Louisburg, N.S.
Perth’s special relationship with the heritage program reflects its proud history in stonemasonry and heritage conservation.
The campus once had a masonry, heritage and traditional program. It was indefinitely suspended in 2018, alongside four other Perth-based programs due to low enrolment and financial challenges.
This time around, the Perth campus and its five remaining programs will continue operating until the end of the 2026 spring term.
“The college is planning to complete this transition and cease operations at the Perth campus by the end of August 2026,” Brulé’s letter said. “Every effort will be made to mitigate impacts on employees and learners during this transition.”
First opened in 1970, the Perth campus currently has 132 full-time students.

Without more details from the college, students, alumni, and staff are left to wonder about the future of their campus — and the programs they hold dear.
Dudzinski and Hugh, who graduate this year, expressed worry that their program will disappear with the closure of the campus.
In such a small community, and an even smaller class, alumni are often present to guide new students. The prospect of not being able to pass his baton disappoints Hugh.
In a statement sent to the Algonquin Times, the college said it’s “committed to exploring ways to preserve the essence of the current program offerings and their critical connections to heritage and craftsmanship when they are transitioned to the Ottawa Campus at the end of the 2026 Spring term.”
Those who live and breathe heritage carpentry, though, remain skeptical.
From the log-splitting fields to the large woodwork projects proudly displayed on the grounds, the acreage needed for this program is substantial.

“Frankly, I’m just not sure there’s enough space,” Dudzinski said.
Current students like Dudzinski and Hugh are still on track to graduate before the closure, but some aspiring students are forced to reconsider their options.
David Rodriguez, a Level 2 business administration student at the Ottawa campus, was excited to discover Perth’s business agriculture program.
“I was looking forward to it as an exciting chapter of my life,” Rodriguez said, adding that he was hopeful for a new start, new friends, and a chance to live on his own for the first time.
Rodriguez hopes the college will transfer the business agriculture program to Woodroffe.
In the meantime, he plans to apply to one of Pembroke campus’ many environmental programs.
With less projected revenue and a provincial funding shortfall, the college is facing a revenue loss of $32 million in the current fiscal year. That figure is expected to grow to a $60 million deficit for 2025-26, and up to $96 million for 2026-27, Brulé said in his letter.
In November 2024, Brulé warned that reductions made by Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada to international student study permits and post-graduate work permits would carry “substantial consequences.”
The college would need measures and mitigations to “prioritize the needs of our learners and focus on the College’s financial sustainability,” Brulé said.
Perth resident and Algonquin College alumni Luke Arbuckle fears the campus closure will negatively affect the local community.
Arbuckle said students in the practical nursing program often complete clinical placements at local hospitals, gaining hands-on experience while alleviating staffing shortages.
“(The school) has also been such an important institution to the town by keeping good carpentry skills local, which is a big industry out here,” Arbuckle said.
“Losing the Perth campus,” Arbuckle added, “is going to leave a huge void in our community and our local economy.”