OPP investigate possible criminal activity linked to OSAP funding

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are investigating possible criminal activity involving Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) payments at private career colleges.

Provincial auditors found possible criminal activity involving OSAP payments, prompting Ontario to raise concerns over funding for private career colleges.

“Preliminary findings have identified serious concerns about the integrity of the OSAP system across private post-secondary institutions that requires further investigation,” said Nolan Quinn, Ontario’s minister of colleges and universities.

“As a result, the government has paused all OSAP payments associated with private post-secondary institutions while the audit proceeds.”

Quinn says the findings raised concerns about student verification, immigration firms and unusual concentrations of applications.

Meanwhile, Ontario Liberals are calling for the resignation of Quinn, saying he’s now lost the trust required to hold this post.

WATCH MORE: Ontario Liberals seek OSAP audit as students struggle with rising costs

“The numbers are staggering. In 2024-25, nearly $1 billion in Ontario grants went to students at private career colleges. Just seven schools received $385 million, as much as all 24 public colleges combined. And when OSAP grant spending increased by $465 million in a single year, 95 cents of every new dollar went to private career college students,” said Ontario Liberal MPP Tyler Watt.

“The government knew something was wrong. Court filings show the ministry was first warned in January 2023. Yet targeted inspections did not begin until July 2025, an outside auditor was not hired until this August and the auditor general was only notified last week.”

This fall, the province is planning to introduce further legislation to strengthen the oversight of OSAP funding.

While the investigation continues, the province has also paused OSAP payments for private career college students and is looking into other temporary loans students can apply to.

Additionally, online programs at private career colleges will no longer be eligible for OSAP funding.

READ MORE: Ontario was warned of ‘suspicious’ OSAP activity at a few career colleges: documents