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Inaugural Department of Social Science Spotlight Conversation
Resisting privatization in Ontario’s public universities
Guest Speaker: David Leadbeater
Date: April 7, 2026
Time: 9:30 - 11:00 am
Location: Ross Building, South 802
Ontario has moved further than any other Canadian province toward the privatization and corporatization of its public universities. Successive governments—supported by federal funding policies—have created conditions that, without stronger resistance, point toward a future of program cuts, job losses, rising tuition and reduced access for students. These trends threaten the vitality of non‑elite Arts and basic Sciences programs, as well as the broader community and regional responsibilities that universities have traditionally upheld. The Laurentian University bankruptcy offers important lessons for faculty, students, and all who care about the future of public higher education.
David Leadbeater taught in the Department of Economics at Laurentian University from 1989 to 2021. His academic interests include the economic development of Canada, urban and regional economics, labour economics, and the intersections of colonialism and economic theory. Leadbeater is the editor of Resources, Empire and Labour: Crises, Lessons and Alternatives and author of Mining Town Crisis: Globalization, Labour and Resistance in Sudbury.
