A beginners guide to the nitty gritty of Lakehead Orillia’s Political Figures
Most students at Lakehead Orillia could name the premiere. Far fewer can name the people whose decisions are hitting a little closer to home, decisions about tuition, student aid, campus buildings, and the very services that keep student life functioning. This article contains everything you should know about everyone in your student life, who affects it, who changes it and who you need to keep an eye on.
Nolan Quinn, Ontario’s Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence, and Security. If there’s one name every Lakehead student should learn right now, it’s Nolan Quinn. On February 12th 2026, Quinn announced a sweeping overhaul of Ontario’s post-secondary funding model, including the end of the domestic tuition freeze that had been in place for 7 years and significant changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program. The tuition news alone would be big enough, universities will be able to raise the tuition by up to 2% per year starting in the 2026 2027 school year, but the Ontario Student Assistance Program restructuring cuts deeper Ontario Student Assistance Program currently allocates approximately 85% of student funding as Non-repayable grants, with 15% as loans. Starting this fall, that ratio flips dramatically, where approximately 45% of students receive OSAP based on financial need and nearly 90% face at least one barrier to accessing post-secondary education.
Quinn framed the changes as necessary sustainability measures, arguing that the previous grant-heavy model was on track to cost over 4 billion annually by 2028 to 2029. Whether you agree with that reasoning or not, he’s the individual who’s been steering the ship in its current direction.
Closely tied to Quinn’s ministry is Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act, which passed in November 2025. The bill gives the Ontario government new powers to regulate student fees at colleges and universities for the ancillary fees that fund student unions and services like food banks, mental health programs, and equity centres. LUSU has raised serious concerns that making these fees optional or subject to government regulation threatens the long-term sustainability of those supports.
Another name you should know is Basil Clarke, who is the warden of Simcoe County. His involvement is on the more positive side of the scale. Most students probably couldn’t pick him out in a lineup, but in January 2025, Clark’s county committed $15 million over the next decade to fund construction of an expansion of the Orillia campus, building on a $10 million investment made back in 2009. That funding is what’s making the planned growth from 2100 to 3500 students a realistic possibility.
Students may have also heard of Jill Dunlop. As the local MPP for Simcoe North, Dunlop recently announced $3.4 million in provincial funding for faculty upgrades at the Orillia campus, money aimed at modernising the learning environment students use every day. Dunlop previously served as Ontario’s minister of Colleges and Universities from 2021 to 2024, meaning she helped chip the very funding frameworks now being overhauled by Quinn.